In what has been a busy couple of days for the New England Patriots in free agency, the organization made a move on Thursday. They signed former Los Angeles Chargers safety Adrian Phillips to a two-year deal.
Phillips spent five seasons with the Chargers, after he was not selected in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Phillips had his best season in 2018. That year, he recorded 94 tackles, four tackles for a loss, one interception and nine passes defended. The strong safety earned first-team All-Pro honors and made the Pro Bowl as a special teams player.
Last season, he had injury issues. A broken arm slightly slowed down his production. He played in seven games, starting in five of them. He recorded 36 tackles, one of which was recorded for a loss.
This should provide depth at the position for a New England Patriots team that is aging at the position. Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung are both 33 years old. Chung has suffered a rash of injuries recently. Most recently, he hurt his ankle in the team’s Wild Card game against the Tennessee Titans, and had to leave in the first quarter.
As the New England Patriots continue their roster overhaul, Phillips should be able to provide veteran leadership on a defense that is going to see new faces next year. with the safety position aging for the organization, depth is a positive for the position.
