Defensive tackle Darius Philon has signed a two-year, $10 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals. His new contract carries with it $5 million in guarantees and keeps him with the team through 2021. Philon had spent the first four years of his career with the Los Angeles Chargers.
The #Cardinals are signing former #Chargers DT Darius Philon to a two-year, $10 million deal, sources tell me and @RapSheet. He gets $5M fully guaranteed. Max $12M with incentives.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 21, 2019
Darius Philon Signs Deal With Arizona Cardinals
Philon’s been with the Chargers the previous four years, but only in the last two did he become a big contributor on the front four of the defense. The 2018 season actually was the first time he started the majority of the games he played in. In the last two years, he’s been a pretty decent defensive lineman. He’s collected eight and a half sacks over that two-year period. And he’s only just finished his rookie contract, so he’s got his whole career ahead of him.
Philon’s 2018 season saw him get 33 total tackles (with 19 solo ones), four sacks, and one forced fumble. These numbers were pretty similar to his 2017 season, in which he had 31 total tackles and four and a half sacks. As a result, he’s been at least pretty consistent over the last two years since his role on the Chargers defense expanded.
Philon played football in high school at Vigor High, located in Prichard, Alabama. He then went on to play at the University of Arkansas. He only played at Arkansas for two years before declaring for the NFL Draft. During his time there, he had 92 tackles and seven and a half sacks. In 2014 he was an All-SEC second team selection.
Philion was drafted by the Chargers in 2015 in the sixth round with the 192nd pick, while they were still in San Diego. Unfortunately, he spent most of his rookie year on injured reserve. In 2016 he fared better health-wise, although he was not a major contributor still until the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Thus far in his career, he has 80 tackles, nine and a half sacks, and two forced fumbles.
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