This time last month, it seemed as if Tennessee Titans second-year wide receiver Kyle Philips was playing the most consistent football of his NFL career.
After both his rookie season and the beginning of his sophomore campaign were derailed by injuries, Philips had finally found himself healthy and developing good chemistry with Titans rookie quarterback Will Levis.
In Levis' first three games as the starter, Philips had 10 receptions for 153 receiving yards (51 yards per game). But in the weeks since, the former UCLA Bruin has been downgraded to a healthy scratch.
Philips was among Tennessee's inactives in Week 13 against the Indianapolis Colts. The Titans opted to keep rookie Colton Dowell and a limited Treylon Burks active on game day instead along with DeAndre Hopkins, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, and Chris Moore.
Dowell has played just 30 offensive snaps this season and does not have a single catch in his career, but has carved out a role for himself on special teams with his play as a gunner. As for Burks, he was limited to just 10 offensive snaps in the game last week as he returned from a severe concussion. Titans coaches still found it valuable to get him some in-game snaps, which left Philips as the odd man out.
According to Titans' wide receivers coach Rob Moore, it's nothing that Philips did or didn't do that led to him losing his spot. It's just how the chips fall with Dowell being valued on special teams. Based on the conversations I had this week, I'm fully expecting that to continue and Philips to once again be inactive for Monday Night Football against the Miami Dolphins.
"It's always frustrating when you're not playing because you want to compete and help this team win, but I understand. It's all about numbers and the value you bring," Philips told me in the locker room earlier this week. "Currently, I'm not adding any value on special teams and I'm only going in on certain packages, so it makes sense. It's just something for me to work on going forward on how I can add more value to this team and what other roles I can step into."
Philips is still practicing punt returns on a daily basis and is hoping to improve in that area in case his number gets called. Because of his size, contributing on special teams isn't really an option unless it happens as a returner. Philips is also working to be better as a run blocker.
"That's a small part of it is the pass game," said Philips when I brought up his 153 receiving yards in three games. "You've got to be able to help in the run game and a big thing is also being able to contribute on special teams, which I'm not really able to do."
In my eyes, Philips has every right to be frustrated. We have seen some really exciting flashes from him in 11 games over the last two seasons. That's it...11 career games for a 24-year-old wide receiver that was just starting to build momentum and has a completely different skillset from the other receivers on your roster. He should be playing.
But unless there's another injury to the receiving corps or Philips is needed on punt return, the 2022 fifth-round pick may be hard pressed to find another opportunity this season.
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