John Phillips (born June 11, 1987) 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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for 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 ...

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

and

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

. He was drafted by the

in the sixth round of the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...

. 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 ...

at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

Early years

Phillips attended Bath County High School in

Hot Springs, Virginia Hot Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bath County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 738. It is located about southwest of Warm Springs on U.S. Route 220. Hot Springs has several historic resorts, fo ...

. In football, he was a two-way player at

and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. As a junior, he tallied 25 receptions for 495 yards and 6 touchdowns in 10 games. He was named first-team All-state at tight end and second-team at defensive end. As a senior, he had 40 receptions for 714 yards and 5 touchdowns. He was an All-state selection at tight end and was named the Roanoke Times Defensive Player of the Year. He finished his high school career with 87 receptions for 1,513 yards, 16 touchdowns, 324 tackles and 42 sacks. He was a three-time All-district selection in both basketball and baseball. He received All-state honors in baseball as a senior.

College career

Phillips accepted a football scholarship from the

. As a freshman, he appeared in all 12 games with 3 starts, making 2 receptions for 27 yards and one touchdown. As a sophomore, he appeared in all 12 games with 4 starts, catching 2 receptions for 65 yards. As a junior, he shared the tight end position with Tom Santi and

Jonathan Stupar Jonathan Stupar (born July 27, 1984) is a former American football tight end. He was signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Virginia. He has also been a member of the Buffalo Bills an ...

. He appeared in 13 games with 8 starts, posting 17 receptions for 193 yards and 2 touchdowns. Phillips blossomed as a senior, becoming a full-time starter, team captain and a first-team All-ACC selection. He started all 12 games and totaled 48 receptions, which at the time ranked second-best by a

in school history. He also tallied 385 yards and 2 touchdowns. He finished his college career with 49 games appearances (32 starts), 69 receptions for 670 yards and 5

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Phillips was selected by the

in the sixth round (208th overall) of the

and surprised observers by making the team. In

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, he had 7 catches for 62 yards, while mostly being used as a blocking

. In the

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

preseason In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

, he was impressing the coaching staff with his skills as a receiver and his ability to take different assignments, including the H-Back role. His performance was starting to push

Martellus Bennett Martellus Demond Bennett (born March 10, 1987) is a former American football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football at Texas A&M and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second ...

for the backup

job behind

Jason Witten Christopher Jason Witten (born May 6, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for 17 seasons, primarily for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Univers ...

, but he was lost for the year in the preseason opener, when he suffered a season-ending ACL tear. It has been speculated that he was never the same player following this injury. The

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, he returned in a backup role, posting career-highs with 15 receptions for 101 yards, 15

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles (second on the team) and one forced fumble. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, Bennett left in

free agency 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 ...

and Phillips had a solid season as the backup tight end behind Witten. He started 9 out of 16 games, serving mainly as an H-Back or blocking

. He had 8 receptions for 55 yards, one touchdown, 6

tackles and one fumble recovery. He wasn't re-signed after the season. John Phillips (American football)

San Diego Chargers

On March 12,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, Phillips signed as a

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 ...

with the

. He was used as a blocking specialist until being placed on the

injured reserve list 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 ...

, after suffering ACL and MCL tears in his right knee during the fifteenth game against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

. He appeared in 15 games (6 starts), posting 4 receptions for 30 yards, one touchdown and 4

tackles. In

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, he came back to play in all of the 16 games with one start, while collecting one reception for a one-yard touchdown and 10

tackles. In

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, he was released on September 5, only to be re-signed 5 days later, after

Ladarius Green Ladarius Green (born May 29, 1990) is a former American football tight end. He played college football at Louisiana–Lafayette and was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Early life Green was born in Be ...

suffered his second concussion of the year and

Antonio Gates Antonio Ethan Gates Sr. (born June 18, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for the San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers during his entire career in the National Football League (NFL). He was named to the Pro ...

was still serving an NFL suspension. He was the starter in the third and fourth game of the season, making a critical

reception against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

. After Gates returned in the fifth game, Phillips was used mainly for blocking purposes. He played in 16 games (5 starts), while posting 10 receptions for 69 yards, one touchdown and 5

tackles.

Denver Broncos

On July 28,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, Phillips was signed as a

by the

. He overcame a serious ankle injury he suffered in his second day in

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

to make the team. On November 5, he was released by the Broncos. He appeared in 8 games with 3 starts, registering 5 receptions for 40 yards and one touchdown.

New Orleans Saints

On November 7,

, he was claimed off waivers by the

. He appeared in 8 games (4 starts), making 5 receptions for 32 yards, while contributing as a blocking

and on

. On March 29,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, Phillips re-signed with the Saints on a one-year contract. On August 29, Phillips was placed on injured reserve, and later released on September 8. He was re-signed on December 19, but was once again released on December 29. He was re-signed again on January 3, 2018. He appeared in one regular season game and didn't record any stat. On August 5,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, Phillips re-signed with the Saints. He was released on September 1.

Arizona Cardinals

On October 30,

, he was signed by the

to serve as a blocking tight end. He appeared in the final 8 games (4 starts), making 3 receptions for 38 yards. He wasn't re-signed after the season.

Kansas City Chiefs

On May 20,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, Phillips signed with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

. On May 28, he was released after spending eight days in training camp. He finished his career after appearing in 120 games with 43 starts, while recording 58 receptions for 426 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Personal life

Phillips married

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player

Nikki Krzysik Nicole Marie Phillips (; born 23 May 1987) is an American-born Polish professional footballer who plays as a defender and a midfielder. She has been a member of the Poland women's national team. She previously played for the Chicago Red Stars ...

in 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, John 1987 births Living people American football tight ends Players of American football from Virginia People from Alleghany County, Virginia Virginia Cavaliers football players Dallas Cowboys players San Diego Chargers players Denver Broncos players New Orleans Saints players Arizona Cardinals players Kansas City Chiefs players