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Phillips May Be Done As A Buccaneer

Posted Oct 28, 2008 by Roy Cummings

Updated Oct 28, 2008 at 11:08 AM

TAMPA – We may have seen the last of Jermaine Phillips as a Buccaneer.

Phillips, who could miss the rest of the season with a left forearm injury suffered in the loss at Dallas, was scheduled to become a free agent after this season but the Bucs have made no real efforts to re-sign him.

Their plan, it seemed, was to let Sabby Piscitelli take over as the starter at his spot beginning next season. That plan will instead be enacted now and if Piscitelli plays well he’ll almost certainly keep the job.

Ironically, the thing the Bucs probably worry most about with Piscitelli in at SS is injury. Since coming to the league last year Piscitelli has had a hard time avoiding injuries and staying on the field.

That was a problem for Phillips, too, of course. He’s such a hard hitter that he often took the worst of his hits himself. In fact, his left forearm injury is the second such injury he’s suffered in the last few years.

Phillips broke his right forearm during a Week 10 game at Atlanta in 2004. He wound up missing the rest of that season and nearly lost his job a couple years later as a result.

After breaking his arm Phillips became so concerned about injuries that he toned his game down in 2005 and 2006. He was so ineffective, though, that the Bucs drafted Piscitelli to push him to be better, which he clearly did.

In 2007 Phillips went back to playing the all-out physical style that made him a starter in the first place and the result was one of the best seasons ever for a Bucs safety.

Phillips was playing at the same high level this year but this injury be enough for the Bucs to pass on the opportunity to re-sign him.