Kyle Phillips (born May 5, 1997) is an

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 ...

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 ...

for the

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 ...

of 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 ...

(NFL). 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 ...

with the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...

, and has previously played in the NFL for 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 ...

Early years

Phillips grew up in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

and attended Hillsboro High School. As a senior, he made 58 tackles (22.5 for loss) with 13 sacks and was named All-Midstate as well as one of ''

The Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, ...

's'' "Dandy Dozen". Phillips was rated a four star recruit and played in the 2015

All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl was an annual postseason college football bowl game played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama from 1977 to 1990. The game was known as the Hall of Fame Classic from 1977 to 1985. In 1986, the National Football Foundatio ...

, where he committed to play college football at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

over offers from LSU and Ole Miss.

College career

Phillips played four seasons for the

, serving primarily as a reserve defensive lineman until midway through his junior year. He recorded 35 tackles (4.5 for loss) with two sacks and two passes defended in his junior season. As a senior, Phillips made 56 tackles, eight for a loss, and five sacks. On October 20, 2018, against

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, he recorded a 27-yard pick-six. He finished his collegiate career with 114 tackles, 16 for a loss, eight sacks, and nine passes defended in 41 games played.

Professional career

New York Jets

Phillips signed with the

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 ...

on April 27, 2019 and made the 53-man roster out of training camp. He made his NFL debut on September 16, 2019 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 ( ...

, making two tackles. Phillips finished his rookie season with 39 tackles, nine tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks with a pass defended in 15 games played, four of which he started. Phillips suffered a season-ending ankle injury on October 25, 2020, in an 18–10 loss to the

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

and was placed on injured reserve on October 28. He played in seven games with three starts in the 2020 season, recording 11 tackles, three of which were for loss. On August 31, 2021, Phillips was placed on the reserve/PUP list to start the season. He was activated on November 17.

New Orleans Saints

On July 31, 2023, Phillips signed with the

. He was waived on August 29, 2023 and re-signed to the practice squad. On September 13, 2023, the Saints signed Phillips to the active roster.

Personal life

Phillips mother,

Teresa Phillips Teresa Lawrence Phillips (born 1958) was the athletic director at Tennessee State University, a post she had held since 2001. She was one of the few female athletic directors at a school that sponsors football. She was also the head women's basket ...

, served as the athletic director of

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tenness ...

from 2002-2019.

References

External links

Tennessee Volunteers bioNew York Jets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Kyle 1997 births Living people Players of American football from Nashville, Tennessee American football defensive ends Tennessee Volunteers football players New York Jets players New Orleans Saints players