Bills Appear to be Replacing one Phillips With Another on Defensive Line
Defensive tackle Harrison Phillips said his goodbye to Buffalo on Wednesday, signing with the Minnesota Vikings as a free agent. But fellow defensive tackle Jordan Phillips said hello to Buffalo.
Again.
The former Bill hinted strongly that he would be returning to them after being released by the Arizona Cardinals, posting a photo of him during his Bills days with the hashtag #letsgobuffalo.
The post drew positive reactions from current Bills and former teammates such as Ed Oliver, Jordan Poyer, Matt Milano and Reid Ferguson, who apparently are ready to welcome him back with open arms.
The massive Phillips (6-6, 340) came through with a career-high 9.5 sacks for the Bills in 2019 before signing a rich free-agent contract with the Cardinals the following year.
But injuries limited him to just nine games in each of his two years in Arizona, leading to his relase as a salary cap casualty.
No word from the Bills, but if Jordan Phillips does return, he would be considered an upgrade over Harrison Phillips, an ascending player general manager Brandon Beane simply decided the team couldn't afford following the expiration of his rookie contract.
In the meantime, the Bills have reportedly been busy with other free-agent defensive tackles, reaching agreements with the Carolina Panthers' DaQuan Jones and the Washington Commanders' Tim Settle.
The Bills have announced the Jones deal but had nothing on Settle or Jordan Phillips as of early Wednesday evening.
If all these moves hold, the interior of the Bills' defensive line could have an almost completely different look than 2021, following the departures of Harrison Phillips and fellow unrestricted free agent Vernon Davis and Justin Zimmer, a restricted free agent who became unrestricted when the Bills declined to offer him a contract tender.
Ed Oliver and Star Lotulelei remain from last season, but Lotulelei could be gone before long too. According to Over The Cap, a trade with a post-June 1 designation would clear $6.6 million from Lotulelei's $9.2 million cap hit this coming season.
But if the Bills can't find a trade partner, they might have to keep him for another year. They would save only $4.1 million with a post-June 1 release that also would bring a dead-money hit of $5.1 million.
Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.
