New York Giants safety Kenny Phillips (21) intercepts a pass intended for Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Limas Sweed during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 26, 2008, in Pittsburgh. New York won 21-14. (AP Photo/Don Wright)
Kenny Phillips will try to overcome problematic knees and the fact that he hasn’t played in the NFL for two straight seasons to land a roster spot on the Saints in 2015.
The Saints have signed Phillips to their expanded 2015 offseason roster, the league announced in its transaction wire Wednesday. He was a former first-round draft choice and Super Bowl champion with the New York Giants.
The Giants selected Phillips 31st overall out of the University of Miami in 2008. Phillips started 41 regular-season games for the Giants between his rookie year and 2012, intercepting eight throws, defending 26 passes and making 200 tackles (62 solo).
In 2011, Phillips had his best campaign in the NFL, registering single-season highs in interceptions (four), passes defended (11) and tackles (86, 63 solo). He had his lone forced fumble as a pro, and he helped the Giants win Super Bowl XLVI against New England in Indianapolis that season.
Knee problems kept Phillips out of all but two games in 2009 and all but seven contests in 2012. He blamed the latter set of issues on rehab.
“We didn’t go about it the right way,” Phillips said, via The New York Daily News. “It sucks. It’s real frustrating. It seems like it’s always something.”
Phillips joined Philadelphia in free agency in 2013, but the Eagles released him before the conclusion of training camp after having also dealt with a quadriceps issue.
He didn’t play in 2013 or 2014.
In New Orleans, which was 7-9 in 2014 and missed the playoffs, safeties include Jairus Byrd, Kenny Vaccaro, Rafael Bush, Pierre Warren, Vinnie Sunseri and Jamarca Sanford. Byrd, Bush and Sunseri all had sustained season-ending injuries by mid-November, leaving the Saints unexpectedly thin at that position.