Darius Phillips (born June 26, 1995) 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 wit ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnove ...

for the Houston Texans 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 ma ...

(NFL). He played college football at

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Peni ...

and was drafted by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...

in the fifth round of the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first dra ...

College Career

Phillips played four seasons at Western Michigan. Starting out as a wide receiver, Phillips caught 32 passes for 479 yards and three touchdowns as a freshman, while also rushing 3 times for 37 yards. He was converted to defensive back as a sophomore. In three years on defense, he recorded 127 tackles, 13 tfl, 2 sacks, and 12 interceptions, which returned for 376 yards and 5 touchdowns. But his primary role was as a kick returner. He led the MAC conference in kickoff return yards in 2014 and 2016, finishing with 130 kickoff returns for a school record 3,193 yards, which ranked 5th all time in NCAA history. He returned five kickoffs for touchdowns, while also returning 32 punts for 327 yards and another score.

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

Phillips played college football at

before being drafted by the

in the fifth round (170th overall) of the

. In Week 3 of the 2019 season, Phillips recorded his first career interception off

Josh Allen Josh or Joshua Allen may refer to: * Josh Allen (offensive lineman) (born 1991), former American football player * Josh Allen (quarterback) (born 1996), American football quarterback in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills since 2018 * Josh Allen (defen ...

in the 21-17 loss. He was placed on injured reserve on September 26, 2019 with a knee injury. He was designated for return from injured reserve on November 21, 2019, and began practicing with the team again. He was activated on November 29, 2019 prior to Week 13. Phillips intercepted a pass thrown by

Ryan Fitzpatrick Ryan Joseph Fitzpatrick (born November 24, 1982) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. During his career, Fitzpatrick started at quarterback for nine different teams, the most ...

in a Week 16 overtime loss against the

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

. He recorded two interceptions during a win 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 ( ...

the following week. Phillips recorded his first interception of the 2020 season during a loss to the Browns in Week 7. He was placed on injured reserve on November 14, 2020; and was activated on December 9, 2020. On December 14, 2021, Phillips was placed on injured reserve.

Las Vegas Raiders

Phillips signed a one-year contract with the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divi ...

on March 17, 2022. He was released on August 30, 2022.

Denver Broncos

On September 1, 2022, Phillips was signed by the

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 headquar ...

. He was placed on injured reserve on December 20.

Houston Texans

On May 4, 2023, Phillips signed with the Houston Texans.

References

External links

Cincinnati Bengals bioWestern Michigan bio
1995 births Living people American football cornerbacks Cincinnati Bengals players Denver Broncos players Houston Texans players Las Vegas Raiders players Players of American football from Detroit Western Michigan Broncos football players {{defensiveback-1990s-stub