Cowboys defender puts organization on blast over shady but fair roster decision
After a poor performance from the defensive tackles against the New Orleans Saints in Week 2, the Dallas Cowboys placed recently acquired veteran Jordan Phillips for a wrist injury. The only problem? He doesn't have a hurt wrist. At least that's what he claims via Clarence Hill from All City DLLS, who recently reported "Phillips said he […]
After a poor performance from the defensive tackles against the New Orleans Saints in Week 2, the Dallas Cowboys placed recently acquired veteran Jordan Phillips for a wrist injury.
The only problem? He doesn't have a hurt wrist. At least that's what he claims via Clarence Hill from All City DLLS, who recently reported "Phillips said he is going on injured reserve but there is nothing wrong with his wrist. He said his wrist is fine. It is what it is. He has to accept the decision of the organization."
Listen, stashing players on Injured Reserve is nothing new in the NFL. Teams do it all the time to free up roster spots and keep their options open for later on in the season. What isn't exactly common is for a player to go to the media and disclose that he isn't in fact injured.
“I don’t know," Phillips told reporters via Nick Harris from the Forth Worth Star-Telegram. "That’s above my pay grade. You have to ask the people making the decisions.”
Phillips putting the Cowboys on blast probably won't lead to national drama or anything like that but it's definitely a surprise. It's also a reminder of the cold business of the NFL.
As far as whether or not it's a fair move in terms of the football side of it: Absolutely it is. Phillips was bad against the Saints. He was consistently beaten to the point of attack, which contributed to the Cowboys allowing five yards per rush attempt.
The Cowboys revealed on Wednesday they signed Carlos Watkins, who is far from a game changer yet a familiar face poached from the Washington Commanders' practice squad.
Defensive tackle is still a major need for the Cowboys, even though it already was so in March when the team refused to keep Johnathan Hankins even though he signed for the cheap in Seattle. The front office neglected the position through the draft process as well and didn't make any additions until training camp was already well underway.
It shouldn't be a surprise this is how things ended. But we'll see if Phillips' quotes end up blowing up as he exposed the fact he isn't even hurt.
