After a 5-12 finish in 2023, the New York Giants are trying to build off their past mistakes. This offseason, the team parted ways with long-time NFL defensive coordinator Wink Martindale. With that, New York hired former Titans DC Shane Bowen to be their defensive coordinator in 2024.
In previous seasons, the Giants had used a base 3-4 defense, Meaning they had three defensive linemen and four linebackers on the field more often than not. Shane Bowen ran a 4-3 defense with the Tiatns and might have to change his scheme based on New York’s personnel. As of yesterday, the Giants added to their defensive line by signing veteran Jordan Phillips. The 31-year-old played for Buffalo the last two seasons.
What can DT Jordan Phillips bring to the New York Giants in 2024?
The #Giants are signing veteran free agent DT Jordan Phillips today, source said. The former #Bills DT has some familiar faces in the NYG building.
A deal in the works for some time, NYG adds a key piece to their D-line prior to the draft. pic.twitter.com/EB6GHmKHdk
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 11, 2024
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network was not the only media member to note that Jordan Phillips was a key signing for the Giants. Beat reporter Art Stapleton of NorthJersey.com noted that New York was going to need to address interior DL at some point. Getting that done before the draft was key for the Giants. Now, they know they have a solid backup who will play quality minutes for Big Blue. That’s one less position they need to focus on for the draft in less than two weeks.
In 2023, Jordan Phillips played in 14 of Buffalo’s 17 regular season games and made nine starts. Phillips played the first 14 games for Buffalo before suffering a season-ending wrist injury. After losing A’Shawn Robinson this offseason, New York knew they needed to speed up their interior defensive line. Last season, Phillips had (2.5) sacks for the Bills along with a career-high (5) passes defended. The veteran DT will be heading into his 10th professional season and his first with New York.
We have signed DL Jordan Phillips
Details: https://t.co/4pZmg7X2yN pic.twitter.com/2kGTN5m8Y2
— New York Giants (@Giants) April 11, 2024
Coming over to the Giants, Jordan Phillips will be joining some familiar faces. Head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen both came from Buffalo. Phillips spent four seasons with Buffalo, two of the four were when Daboll and Schoen were still with the Bills. Along with Dexter Lawrence and Jordan Phillips at DT, the Giants have Jordan Riley and D.J. Davidson. Those four players are the top interior defensive lineman that the Giants have for the 2024 season. How will Phillips fit in his first year with the team?
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