A four-time all-conference player at Texas Christian, Phillips received base salaries of $310,000, $395,000 and $480,000. He received split salaries for the first two years of his contract.
Phillips has been recovering from surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his knee that he suffered at the NFL scouting combine. He has been limited during offseason activities before returning to practice this week at a rookie minicamp.
Although he’s still not 100 percent, Phillips is expected to be ready for training camp.
"My knee is coming along pretty well now," said Phillips, who led his team in tackles during three of his four seasons in the Mountain West Conference. "I’m starting to run around on it now and it feels pretty good for the most part. It’s been tough on me to have to watch everybody else out there. I’ve really never been injured before, so it’s a strange feeling."
Phillips’ deal coincided with sixth-round running back Cedric Peerman (Virginia) officially signing the three-year, $1.263 million contract that he agreed to Wednesday. His contract included a $78,000 signing bonus.
Now, the Ravens have three remaining unsigned draft picks: first-round offensive tackle Michael Oher, second-round outside linebacker-defensive end Paul Kruger and third-round cornerback Lardarius Webb.
The Ravens also signed undrafted rookie free agent linebacker Tony Fein (Ole Miss), who was one of the 10 players that participated in the team’s rookie minicamp on a trial basis.
Fein is listed at 6-foot-3, 245 pounds and has 4.65 speed in the 40-yard dash. At age 27, he’s older than the typical NFL rookie as an Army veteran who served in Iraq.
Meanwhile, the team cut cornerback Anwar Phillips, who was on and off the Ravens’ practice squad last season, as well as three undrafted rookie free agents: quarterback Drew Willy (Buffalo), defensive back David Jones (Kentucky) and outside linebacker-defensive end Luis Vasquez (Arizona State).
Anwar Phillips had performed capably at minicamps, intercepting passes and batting down footballs.
As for Willy, he wasn’t in line to get playing time with the Ravens as he was the fourth quarterback behind Joe Flacco, Troy Smith and John Beck.
Willy was a four-year starter and is Buffalo’s all-time leader in passing yards (8,748), touchdowns (52), total offense (8,639 yards), completions (849) and completion percentage (64.2).
Aaron Wilson covers the Baltimore Ravens for the Carroll County Times and the Annapolis Capital.
