Dashaun Phillips (born January 3, 1991) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Tarleton State University Tarleton State University is a public university with its main campus in Stephenville, Texas. It is a founding member of the Texas A&M University System and enrolled over 14,000 students in the fall of 2020. History John Tarleton Agricultural ...

, and signed with the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2014. Phillips has also been a member of the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, and

Dallas Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne ...

Early life & high school career

Phillips was born in 1991 in

Duncanville, Texas Duncanville is a city in southwest Dallas County, Texas, in the United States. Duncanville's population was 40,706 at the 2020 census. The city is part of the Best Southwest area, which includes Duncanville, Cedar Hill, DeSoto, and Lancaster ...

as one of five children to a mother named Cassandra. His siblings include Zion, Asia, Tara, and Jack. Phillips graduated in 2008 from Duncanville High School where he played football as a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

. In high school football, Phillips earned several accolades including Most Valuable Player as well as 2008 Defensive Back of the Year in District 8-5A. He was also part of the District Championship team in 2008. During his senior year, Phillips was team captain. He lettered three years in both football and track.

College career

Phillips committed to Tarleton State University. After redshirting in 2009, Phillips played the following year, recording 26 unassisted tackles out of a total of 44. He recorded 5 pass breakups and 1 forced fumble. During the 2011 season Phillips tied for No. 3 all-time in the school's history with most interceptions. He received the Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Year award and led the conference and team with 7 interceptions and 15 passes defended. He was named First-team All-LSC and Named First-team All-Super Region Four. In his final year Phillips recorded 19 unassisted tackles out of a total of 32 and recorded 8 pass breakups, 1 interception and 1 forced fumble. While attending Tarleton State, Phillips majored in

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, biomechanical, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kinesiology to human health ...

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

After going unselected in the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

, Phillips signed with the

as a college free agent on May 12, 2014. He was waived on August 28.

New York Jets

Phillips signed with the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

of the

on October 7, 2014. On December 30, he signed a

futures contract In finance, a futures contract (sometimes called a futures) is a standardized legal contract to buy or sell something at a predetermined price for delivery at a specified time in the future, between parties not yet known to each other. The asset ...

with the Jets. The Jets waived/injured him on September 1, 2015. He was waived off the team's injured reserve with a settlement on September 5, 2015.

Washington Redskins

The

signed Phillips to their practice squad on September 15, 2015. He was promoted to the active roster on November 27 to replace

Chris Culliver Christopher LaBarren Culliver II (born August 17, 1988) is a former American football cornerback. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at South Carolina. Early life Culli ...

, who was placed on the team's

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. On January 3, 2016, he left the last game of the regular season against the

with a severe neck injury. He was carted off and transported to a local hospital where he had feeling in all extremities. Phillips was waived on November 12, 2016 and was re-signed to the practice squad three days later. He was promoted back to the active roster on December 2, 2016. On December 5, Phillips was once again released by the Redskins and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted back to the active roster on December 22, 2016.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On August 23, 2017, Phillips was traded to the

for Lucas Crowley. He was waived on September 2, 2017, and was signed to the Steelers' practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Steelers on January 15, 2018. On September 1, 2018, Phillips was released by the Steelers.

Dallas Renegades

In 2019, Phillips was selected by the

in the

2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social m ...

. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

References

External links

Washington Redskins bioTarleton State Texans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Dashaun 1991 births Living people Players of American football from Texas Sportspeople from the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex People from Duncanville, Texas American football cornerbacks Tarleton State Texans football players Dallas Cowboys players New York Jets players Washington Redskins players Pittsburgh Steelers players Dallas Renegades players