In Former All-Pro Adrian Phillips, Patriots Blend Value With Versatility

Adrian Phillips faced the New England Patriots twice as a Los Angeles Charger.

A dozen tackles, including one for loss, and one pass breakup would be the byproduct in October 2017. An additional six tackles, including one for loss, would follow during his return to Gillette Stadium for the AFC divisional round in January 2019.

Phillips is on track for a longer stay now. New England agreed to terms with the 27-year-old safety during the initial wave of free agency.

According to Field Yates and Mike Reiss of ESPN, it is a two-year pact for Phillips that includes a $1.5 million signing bonus and a combined cap number of $6 million. Upcoming are base salaries of $1.25 million and $2.25 million for 2020 and 2021, respectively, along with up to $500,000 in per-game roster bonuses and $750,000 in incentives for each season.

A good match of value and versatility Phillips projects to be.

A reported $1 million of his 2020 base salary is guaranteed. A reported $500,000 of his 2021 base is.

Phillips entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2014. The former Texas Longhorns captain would draw Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors for his work on special teams by 2018. From kickoff and punt returns to go with kickoff and punt coverage, that campaign saw Phillips appear in all 16 games for the Chargers.

He’d start seven.

The volume gave way to a career-high 94 tackles with nine defended passes, one interception and one forced fumble. By the close of the calendar, Phillips had logged 66% of the defensive snaps and 78% of the snaps in the kicking game.

The Chargers re-signed Phillips on a one-year, $2 million deal last March. Five starts over seven contests were the result at both strong and free safety, with a broken forearm leading to a stint on injured reserve in between.

“AP’s versatility is huge,” Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn told reporters in the aftermath Phillips’ injury last September. “He was a special teams Pro Bowler last year. He’s the captain of that secondary. He’ll be hard to replace.”

Phillips made his way back by December to earn the sixth-highest Pro Football Focus grade among safeties. He earned it in a limited sample size, yet while lining up in the box, in the slot and in the deep half.

New England’s safety depth chart, among others, has undergone a shift since the legal-tampering window met the new league year. The organization extended the decade-long tenure of Devin McCourty last Sunday, agreed to trade third-in-command Duron Harmon to the Detroit Lions on Wednesday, and saw core special-teamer Nate Ebner join the New York Giants as a free agent on Thursday.

The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Phillips could handle what the exits of Harmon and Ebner leave behind. At least in part.

He finds himself in a room of safeties where McCourty, Patrick Chung and Terrence Brooks all have seats. Also under contract are recent members of New England’s practice squad in Obi Melifonwu and Adarius Pickett, as well as a member of last spring’s undrafted class in Malik Gant, who spent his rookie year on injured reserve.

Phillips stands with 64 games and 24 starts on his NFL log. He has recorded 251 tackles, 18 passes defensed, five interceptions and a pair of forced fumbles from sub-package linebacker to single-high centerfielder.

For the Patriots, it’s ground worth covering.