Justin Phillips (born October 10, 1995) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

Early life

Phillips attended

Pearland High School Pearland High School (PHS) is an American public high school, located in Pearland, Texas, south of Houston. It is one of three high schools in the Pearland Independent School District, and serves parts of Pearland and most of the city of Br ...

. As a senior, he posted 86 tackles (11 for loss), 2 sacks, 2 interceptions, one forced fumble and 2 fumble recoveries. In the Texas 5A state championship game Tre LeDay forced a fumble that he returned 88-yards. He received Houston Chronicle defensive player of the year, Associated Press Sports Editors honorable-mention Class 5A All-state team, All-Greater Houston, district 22-5A defensive player of the year, All-district and Texas High School Football All-elite Class 5A Region III honors. A 3-star recruit, Phillips committed to

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

over offers from Baylor,

Boise State Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State be ...

, and Northwestern.

College career

As a true freshman at Oklahoma State, Phillips appeared in 8 games and missed 5 with an injury. He played mostly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

, covering kickoffs and making 6 tackles. He had 10 defensive tackles against the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

. In 2015, he was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

. As a sophomore, he appeared in all 13 games at

middle linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the li ...

, tallying 42 tackles (fourth on the team), 2 sacks and one interception. He started against

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

and the

. He had 14 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble against

. As a junior, he appeared in all 13 games at

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the lin ...

, registering 64 tackles (third on the team), 9.5 tackles for loss (third on the team), 42 solo tackles, 2.5 sacks, 2 quarterback hurries, 2 interceptions, 2 pass breakups and 3 forced fumbles (led the team). He returned interceptions for

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s in back-to-back games against the

University of South Alabama The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May 1963 and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alaba ...

and the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

. As a senior, he was moved back to

and was named team captain. He recorded 98 tackles (led the team), 11 tackles for loss (second on the team), 2 sacks, 5 quarterback hurries, 3 pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He had 12 tackles against

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

and

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...

. He finished his college career with 221 tackles (23 for loss), 6.5 sacks, 3 interceptions (2 returned for touchdowns), 6 passes defensed, 6 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries in 42 games.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Phillips was signed by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

after the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...

on April 30. On June 18, he was released. On July 31, he was re-signed because of injuries on the linebacking corps. He was waived on August 31, 2019.

Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders

On September 2, 2019, Phillips was signed to the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. On September 25, he was promoted to the active roster to provide depth because of injuries at linebacker and the 12-game suspension of

Vontaze Burfict Vontaze DeLeon Burfict Jr. ( ; born September 24, 1990) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals. ...

. He appeared in 4 games as a backup, posting 4 tackles (2 solo) on defense and 3 tackles on

. On October 29, he was waived with an injury settlement after suffering a season ending knee injury in the seventh game against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

. Phillips was re-signed by the

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

on May 6, 2020. He was waived on September 5, 2020.

Washington Football Team

Phillips signed with the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

's practice squad on November 5, 2020. He signed a reserve/futures contract with the team on January 13, 2021; and was released on August 24, 2021.

Calgary Stampeders

On September 29, 2021, it was announced that Phillips had signed with the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

. He was released on November 29, 2021.

References

External links

Calgary Stampeders bioOklahoma State bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Justin 1995 births Living people Players of American football from Houston Players of Canadian football from Houston American football linebackers Oklahoma State Cowboys football players Oakland Raiders players Las Vegas Raiders players Washington Football Team players Calgary Stampeders players Pearland High School alumni Canadian football linebackers Dallas Cowboys players