Jordan Phillips and Shaq Lawson ink one-year deals
The Buffalo Bills signed both DT Jordan Phillips and DE Shaq Lawson to one-year deals on St. Patrick’s Day to help solidify their defensive line. Both players left the Bills after the 2019 season and now return ‘home’ looking to capitalize on unfinished business.
Phillips was the first to sign, saying that he watched every Bills game over the last two years. How could he not still love the Bills? He posted the best season of his career in 2019, recording 9.5 sacks (second most among NFL DTs), 13 tackles for loss, and he played in all 16 games. In his two years with the Cardinals in 2020 and 2021, he played in just 9 games in each season and had a total of 5 sacks and 4 tackles for loss in the two years.
On the Bills, Phillips was quoted as saying, “I talked to the guys constantly… stayed in touch. When I left, it was a real close-knit group. First time I really felt part of a football team that’s more of a family.”
In Phillips’ introductory press conference after signing the deal with Buffalo, he had a message for his old friend, telling Lawson to “sign the deal.” And, minutes later, Lawson was the newest member of the Bills.
Lawson spent his 2020 and 2021 campaigns with the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets, respectively, and is ultimately returning to the place where he was the most productive. He played in 14 games each of the last 2 seasons, posting a total of 5 sacks and 9 tackles for loss. In 2019 with the Bills, Lawson recorded 6.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss.
On Josh Allen, Lawson said, “I hated trying to figure how to break him down and stop his speed so I’m glad to be on his side.”
The two stout defensive lineman return to Buffalo to play with a different Allen they saw in 2019. This current version of Allen is a superstar, and players want to play on his side. Not to mention the signing of Von Miller, one of the best wide receivers in the league in Stefon Diggs, and the best secondary in the league, as Phillips mentions here:
