It’s too warm for a parka, so Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips practiced in a red hoodie under his jersey on Wednesday. The coat was in his car, though.
Phillips, 32, rejoined the Bills this week, and now that rosters have shaken out, he is officially on the Buffalo practice squad.
It’s Phillips’ fourth stint with the Bills, a team that is no stranger to bringing back veterans for various reunions. Joining Phillips on the practice squad is veteran safety Jordan Poyer, who spent last year in Miami after seven seasons with Buffalo.
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Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, middle, celebrates his interception against the Jets in December. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Bills general manager Brandon Beane found plenty of reasons to bring “both JPs” back to the squad.
“We have a lot of history with both of those guys, both of them have had great impacts here,” Beane said Wednesday of Phillips and Poyer. “First off on the field, but as you guys know, culture, character, leadership, all those things, you can’t find enough guys like that.
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“When you’ve got guys in this case who have given so much and been a part of the success we’ve had here that want to come back and be on the practice squad, prepare themselves to play if and when called on, but also mentor guys around them, young guys, young vets, whatever it is.”
Beane considers the situation different than when the Bills brought safety Micah Hyde onto the practice squad last season. Phillips wants to be ready to play, and the Bills will ramp him up to do so. Part of why he signed with the team earlier last week was so that he could begin working out at the facility, even if he ultimately was to end up on the practice squad.
But Phillips is ready for anything.
"I don’t really know how to say this but I’m still here to play," Phillips said. "I feel like I have a lot of ball left in me, but I'm okay with being mentor as well, if that's the best way of putting it. So I don't want you guys to think I'm just here to be practice squad or, you know what I'm saying. Like I got a lot left to give, and I feel like I can still help this team win, but I'm okay with helping the young guys along while doing that."
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Phillips played in seven games last year with the Bills as a reserve, playing 24% of defensive snaps. After last season ended, Phillips said he could really only see himself still playing if it were in Buffalo. He kept in touch with Beane accordingly.
“Jordan Phillips and I spoke all spring long, and when we got to training camp, Jordan is all over it,” Beane said. “I would tell him a certain day to check in with me if he hadn’t heard from me, and Jordan was calling me. So that tells you how eager he is, though.
“He’s loved his time here. We’ve loved his time here. We think he’s played his best football, and he just wants to be part of a winner and help us do this.”
For Phillips, it was quite purposeful.
"Honestly, I just needed to know if I need to stay in shape or not," Phillips said. "That was really it. I've been in dad mode most of the time. I got three kids now and doing all the dad things. So, I had other teams call. And I just, we kind of decided it was Buffalo or nothing. So, yeah, I just needed to know that portion of it."
Phillips re-joins a defensive line that has seen some turnover. At defensive tackle, the Bills drafted T.J. Sanders and Deone Walker this year after bringing in veteran defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi. DeWayne Carter is entering his second season.
While Ed Oliver and DaQuan Jones are set to start, Beane knows how much the team will rotate the linemen, and thus, depth at the position is critical.
As the Bills gear up for Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens, Beane said he and the team still have confidence in the younger defensive linemen.
“Yeah, we do. We do,” Beane said. “We knew coming into this year, we have kind of an infusion of youth in various spots, most specifically in the D-line and drafting, especially interiors you were talking about.”
Still, Beane envisions an addition like Phillips, even to the practice squad, being a boost for the Bills. The adjusted rule from a few years ago to expand the practice squad is something Beane has praised many times.
“We don’t have a minor league, we can’t send guys down to a Rochester or whatever your Triple AAA team would be in another sport, and so the practice squad is very important for a lot of reasons,” Beane said. “It’s development and having those guys, but now with the rules since Covid, being able to have vets on there, I think, is one of the best things our league has done – not only so they can help you on the field, but you know, a coach (or) I can talk to someone, but a player who has been there on the field, that’s a different impact, to put your arm around a rookie or a young player.”
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