Surprise Move: Ravens Release Tyre Phillips, Sign Linebacker Del'Shawn Phillips

O-lineman replaced by linebacker.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — In a surprise move, the Ravens released offensive tackle Tyre Phillips and replaced him with linebacker Del'Shawn Phillips on the 53-man roster. 

The Ravens reportedly tried to trade Phillips but there was evidently not enough interest or they did not receive a substantial offer. 

Phillips, a third-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, is a big, physical offensive lineman but he still needs to develop more consistency.

He dominated the first couple of weeks of training camp, swatting away the defensive linemen.

That performance did not carry over to the second preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals when Phillips was penalized for two false starts and an illegal man downfield.

Phillips was battling for the starting job at left guard but he has behind Ben Powers on the depth chart. Powers has been a model of consistency on the offensive line. 

Last year, Phillips played in 10 games — four starts at right tackle and one at left tackle. He was twice placed on IR with a knee injury, first on Sept. 14 and again on Dec. 30.

With Phillps' release, the Ravens now have 10 offensive linemen on the active roster — Ronnie Stanley, Ben Powers, Tyler Linderbaum, Kevin Zeitler, Morgan Moses, Ja'Waun James, Pat Mekari, Ben Cleveland, Daniel Faalele, and Trystan Colon.

Del'Shawn Phillips led the Jets with 369 special teams snaps in 2021. He is also versatile and played 98 snaps at inside linebacker and 54 snaps at outside linebacker.

The Ravens claimed him off waivers from the Jets. Phillips had likely been headed to their practice squad. 

Phillips was signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in April  2019 but was waived during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019.

He was signed by the Buffalo Bills to their practice squad on Oct. 30, 2019. Phillips made his NFL debut in the Bills' season opener against the New York Jets on Sept. 13, 2020.

He was placed on injured reserve in October 2020, after suffering a quad injury in Week 1. He was later waived by the Bills in January 2021, 

The NFL Network was the first to report on Phillips' release.