Adrian Phillips Is A Perfect Free Agent Signing For The Patriots

The New England Patriots may have the ultimate defensive secondary in the league. However, they still decided to add some depth to safety for the 2020 NFL season. Veteran free agent Adrian Phillips joined the Patriots and signed a two-year deal a month before the 2020 NFL Draft.

It looks like Phillips is the prototypical safety for the Patriots secondary. Head coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots could really use his skillset and size. Phillips measures at 5’11 and 210 pounds. He is the perfect safety/linebacker hybrid who provided great play recognition skills in his first six years with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Phillips started career-high seven contests in 2018. He became the First Team All-Pro special teams player and also got his first Pro Bowl nod in the same campaign.

Adrian Phillips is the right fit for the Patriots

The Patriot recorded 94 tackles, nine pass deflections and one interception. Phillips was named a starter in 2019 and the team placed him on injured reserve in the beginning of the regular season after sustaining a broken forearm. However, Phillips joined the team later in the season.

When it comes to his impact on the Patriots, Phillips is the perfect do-it-all player for the team. He is taking a position that can cover any talented position player. He also has the ability to stop the run. Phillips reminds everyone of Patrick Chung who measures at 5’11 and 215 pounds.

The Patriots have a packed cornerback group of nine players. However, Devin McCourty, Chung, Phillips and Kyle Dugger are the only safeties on the team. Phillips has joined a rather talented group, and he will add more boost to the Patriots secondary.

Phillips can also play on special teams. He was an All-Pro in 2018, and played for great special teams coverage. The safety covered the middle of the field as the up-back on the punt squad.

Phillips is 28, and he is in his primetime. Belichick believes that his player can be of great help for the team.

“Adrian Phillips, we watched when the Chargers made that run in the playoffs,” McCourty said of Phillips. “Having all those DBs on the field and him [Phillips] being able to look to play linebacker, play safety, play a bunch of different roles. Overall, that’s us in a nutshell, that’s our defense, that’s our team, having guys who are team-first guys who can play multiple roles to help the team in a bunch of different ways.”