Kyle

Philips

The Eagles add Philips as a practice squad slot-receiving option, behind Jahan Dotson and Britain Covey, who are listed as the slot wideouts on the Eagles’ active roster. Philips has dealt with injuries through his two NFL seasons so far, catching 23 passes in 13 games played for the Titans. The Eagles also signed OL Jack Driscoll to their practice squad, while releasing S Caden Sterns and TE Kevin Foelsch to make room.

Hyped as a Day 3 slot man in 2022, Philips ended up catching just 23 passes across his first 13 NFL games as he dealt with injury. A training camp hamstring issue was probably the final straw this summer as the Titans broke in a much deeper receiver corps. Also waived/released by the Titans on Tuesday were DT Abdullah Anderson, T Geron Christian, C Corey Levin, LB Shane Ray, DB Tre Avery, DT Quinton Bohanna, DB Shyheim Carter, DE Khalid Duke, DB Keaton Ellis, DB Caleb Farley, DB Eric Garror, RB Hassan Haskins, DT Isaiah Iton, WR Kearis Jackson, DB Matthew Jackson, DB Robert Javier, DB Gabe Jeudy-Lally, DB Anthony Kendall, WR Mason Kinsey, K Brayden Narveson, WR Bryce Oliver, RB Jabari Small, G Cole Spencer, T Leroy Watson and G Lachavious Simmons.

We don’t know the severity of Philips’ injury, but it’s just the latest in a string of injuries that have plagued the third-year receiver since he first entered the league in 2022. Philips burst on the scene as a rookie, catching 6-of-9 targets for 66 yards in his pro debut, but he’s managed just 17 receptions in his other 12 games played. He was already well off the fantasy radar, so this injury doesn’t change his current outlook heading into the season.

In his first game as a pro, Philips caught 6-of-9 targets for 66 yards while also returning four punts for 62 yards. The fifth-round rookie looked like an immediate impact player out of the slot but has been limited to just 13 games over two seasons due to injury. In addition to injuries, Glennon also points out that Philips lost value when he muffed away his job as a returner last season. Now, rookie Jha’Quan Jackson, who the team selected in the sixth round this spring, has a chance to unseat Philips in the slot and as a returner. Neither player would offer much fantasy upside if they make the Titans’ 53-man roster, but this is a position battle worth monitoring under a new coaching regime.

The fifth-round pick began his career in 2022 with six catches for 66 yards on nine targets in Week 1. He went down with a hamstring shortly after his debut and missed most of his rookie. He garnered some hype based on the brief flash, but an MCL injury sidelined him until Week 5 of the 2023 season. He popped up with a pair of 60-yard games in Week 9 and 10 but was a healthy scratch only a few games later. Having fallen out of favor with his coaching staff, Philips will be fighting for a roster spot in the summer.

The bulk of the Titans inactives, including Philips, are healthy scratches. Philips was inactive for three of the Titans’ past four games and hasn’t caught more than one pass in a game since Week 10.

Philips racked up 129 yards over the past two games, but that was never going to sustain itself based on his limited role. He came crashing back to Earth in this game, as expected. Philips will pop up for the occasional WR3 fantasy day, but he can’t be trusted given how poor the Titans’ offense has looked in recent weeks.

The slot man has now cleared 60 yards and led the Titans in receiving in back-to-back contests. He has been heavily out-targeted by DeAndre Hopkins in the process, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Philips carve out some weekly low-end WR4 value if Will Levis remains at the controls. The Titans at least feign interest in a passing game with Levis under center. The Jags are on deck for Week 11.

While Philips led the team in receiving, it should be noted that all but one of his catches came in the two-minute offense after the Titans possessed the ball at the end of both halves. Fellow wide receiver Treylon Burks was carted off the field of play with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, which is likeliest to benefit Chris Moore as a true perimeter receiver over the slot-based Philips moving forward.

Philips returns in time to fill in for the injured Treylon Burks, who is set to miss his second consecutive contest in Week 5. The little pass volume available for the Titans has primarily filtered through DeAndre Hopkins, which is likely to leave little room for Philips to return meaningful counting stats in his first game action of the season.