Bills DT Jordan Phillips to have rotator cuff surgery

On media day, after the Buffalo Bills exited this year’s NFL playoffs in an unflattering fashion, defensive tackle Jordan Phillips announced that he had been playing through the final weeks of the season with a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder.

The defensive tackle who returned to the Bills this season went on the team’s weekly injury list after he made a diving attempt to sack New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones back on December 1. He now says that if the team hadn’t been in the playoffs, he would have gone on injured reserve.

Phillips missed both Weeks 14 and 15 as he nursed the shoulder along to get it well enough to help the team finish out their season. After making a return in Week 16, he was inactive for Week 18, as well as the Bills’ wild-card playoff win over the Miami Dolphins. Phillips was able to return to the lineup for Buffalo’s final game against the Cincinnati Bengals, despite being listed with a questionable designation headed into game day.

In his press conference the day after the Bills’ divisional-round loss, head coach Sean McDermott confirmed Phillips’ diagnosis, and said that the defensive tackle will have surgery during the offseason.

While it takes 6-8 weeks for the tendon to heal to the bone after surgery, the estimated total healing time for a torn rotator cuff that has been surgically repaired is 4-6 months.

Phillips, who will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, said that he will be ready to go for training camp by the time summer rolls around. As we all know, the Bills have less money than they have players to re-sign, so the question is, what uniform will he be wearing?