Kenny Phillips
Miami, Florida, U.S. | |||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight: | 217 lb (98 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | Miami Carol City (Miami Gardens, Florida) | ||||
| College: | Miami (FL) (2005–2007) | ||||
| NFL draft: | 2008: 1st round, 31st pick | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||
| |||||
Kenneth Phillips (born November 24, 1986) is an American former professional
Early life
Phillips attended
In 2004, Phillips was the nation's top safety prospect and
College career
Phillips chose to attend the University of Miami over Tennessee, Florida State and North Carolina State.
In his freshman year, Phillips was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team after starting 11 games at free safety. He ranked third on the team with 67 tackles (40 solo), recovered two fumbles, broke up four passes and recorded one interception. Phillips interception came against the Clemson Tigers in triple overtime and sealed the win for the Hurricanes.[1]
As a sophomore, Phillips was named to the All-ACC 1st Team and 2nd team
Phillips was also named to the 2006 All-ACC Academic Football Team. [3]
As a junior, Phillips was named to the All-ACC 1st Team for a second straight year, and 2nd team All-American for a second straight year.[4] He started 12 games out of 12 at safety. Phillips ranked second on the team with a career-high 83 tackles(54 solo), made 6.5 tackles for loss, forced three fumbles, broke up 5 passes, and intercepted 2 passes.
After the season, Phillips declared for the NFL draft.
Professional career
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle |
Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2+1⁄4 in (1.89 m) |
212 lb (96 kg) |
4.48 s | 1.47 s | 2.53 s | 4.27 s | 6.97 s | 32+1⁄2 in (0.83 m) |
10 ft 1 in (3.07 m) |
19 reps | |||
| All values from NFL Combine[5]
| ||||||||||||
New York Giants
Phillips was selected in the first round (31st overall) by the New York Giants in the 2008 NFL draft.[6][7] Many experts claimed there were no safeties in the draft worth a 1st-round pick, aside from Phillips; as expected, he was the only safety drafted in the 1st-round. His selection also continued the remarkable streak of University of Miami safeties selected in the 1st-round, the last being Brandon Meriweather, who was selected 24th overall by the New England Patriots in 2007. Prior to the draft, The Sporting News compared Phillips to Deon Grant.[8]
Entering
At the end of the 2008 preseason, Phillips was slated at the #2 spot on the depth chart at the free safety position behind Michael Johnson.
While not a starter, Phillips split time at the free safety position with Johnson and also played on special teams. He made the first interception of his career in week 8 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, coming with only minutes left in the 4th quarter, sealing a 21-14 victory for the Giants. Phillips got his first start of the season against the Eagles while James Butler was out with an injury. He remained the starter when Butler returned from his injury. As the season continued, Phillips' play showed marked improvement.
As no University of Miami player was selected in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft, Kenny Phillips' selection in 2008 marks the end of a fourteen-year streak during which at least one Miami Hurricane football player was taken each year. In 2015, for the first time since Phillips in 2008, a Miami Hurricane, wide receiver Phillip Dorsett, was taken in the first round.[10]
On September 24, Phillips was placed on
Microfracture surgery has so far been seen as a success by doctors and Phillips himself.[13] Phillips believed he would be ready for week one of the 2010 season for the Giants opener against the Carolina Panthers.[14] If Phillips was not ready to go at the beginning of the season, he would be replaced by former Seattle Seahawk Deon Grant.[15] Once ready to play, Phillips would team up with fellow University of Miami Hurricane Antrel Rolle in the Giants backfield for the first time. On September 12, Phillips made his long-awaited return to the Giants as a starter alongside Rolle in the Giants' season opener against the Carolina Panthers. He managed to intercept a pass from Panthers quarterback Matt Moore in the Giants' 31-18 victory.
For the 2011 regular season, Phillips recorded personal career-high statistics in three defensive categories: interceptions (4), pass deflections (11), and tackles (82).
At the end of the 2011 season, Phillips and the Giants appeared in Super Bowl XLVI. He started in the game as the Giants defeated the New England Patriots by a score of 21–17.[16]
Philadelphia Eagles
Phillips signed with the Philadelphia Eagles on March 14, 2013.[17] On August 25, 2013, Phillips was released by the Eagles.[18]
New Orleans Saints
On December 31, 2014, Phillips signed a reserve/future contract with the New Orleans Saints.[19] On September 6, 2015, Phillips was released by the Saints.[20] He re-signed on September 14, 2015, due to the loss of teammate, Rafael Bush to a season-ending injury in a 31–19 loss against the Arizona Cardinals. Phillips made his first appearance on September 20, 2015, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, his first NFL game since 2012.[21] The Saints released him on October 6.[22]
Retirement
Phillips announced his retirement on July 6, 2016, citing injuries as the reason for his retirement.[23]
Statistics
| Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | G | GS | Total | Solo | Sck | Sfty | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR |
| 2008 | NYG | 16 | 3 | 67 | 55 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | NYG | 2 | 2 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 11.0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | NYG | 16 | 16 | 77 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | NYG | 15 | 15 | 82 | 59 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 50 | 12.5 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 49 | 36 | 239 | 183 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 72 | 9.0 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
References
- ^ Rivals.com College Football - Phillips seals Miami's first win
- ^ Kenny Phillips Named ACC Defensive Back of the Week :: Kenny Phillips tied a school record with three interceptions against Duke this past weekend
- ^ 2006 All-ACC Academic Football Team Announced :: League recognizes 37 student-athletes including nine all-conference players
- ^ "Kenny Phillips Named All-ACC First Team :: Two Other Players Receive Honors". Archived from the original on November 29, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2007.
- ^ "2008 NFL Combine Results - Defensive Players". Archived from the original on July 28, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
- ^ "2008 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
- ^ "SI Grade". CNN. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008.
- ^ SportingNews.com - Pro Football War Room: Kenny Phillips[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Giants' first-rounder Kenny Phillips embraces Sean Taylor's number, spirit". Daily News. New York. May 10, 2008.
- ^ "UM football freshmen embrace task of changing program's downturn | The Miami Herald". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on November 27, 2014.
- ^ Phillips put on IR with knee injury
- ^ "Kenny Phillips's Knee Injury "Career-Threatening"?: A Giant Question Mark". Bleacher Report.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 22, 2009. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "NFL News | Latest NFL Football News".
- ^ "Top 10 New York Giants' 'Difference-Makers' for 2010". July 16, 2010.
- ^ "Super Bowl XLVI - New York Giants vs. New England Patriots - February 5th, 2012". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
- ^ Eagles Add CB Williams, S Phillips
- ^ McPherson, Chris (August 25, 2013). "Jamar Chaney Among Initial Cuts". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. Retrieved August 25, 2013. [permanent dead link]
- ^ "Saints sign ex-Giants safety Kenny Phillips". January 2015.
- ^ "New Orleans Saints announce practice squad moves, waiver claims". NewOrleansSaints.com. September 6, 2015. Archived from the original on September 23, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
- ^ Woodbery, Evan (September 7, 2015). "New Orleans Saints releasing safety Kenny Phillips". NOLA.com. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
- ^ Alper, Josh (October 6, 2015). "Report: Saints to release Kenny Phillips". NBCSports.com. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
- ^ Dabe, Christopher (July 6, 2016). "Former Saints safety Kenny Phillips says football became too painful to play, website reports". NOLA.com. Retrieved August 11, 2016.