Sep 17, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (17) reacts after his first down catch against New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez (6) in the second quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle in concussion protocol

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle is in concussion protocol following a helmet-to-helmet hit in Sunday night’s win at New England.

Waddle had four catches for a game-high 86 yards before getting hit by Patriots rookie safety Marte Mapu with about five minutes remaining in Miami’s 24-17 win. Mapu was flagged for unnecessary roughness and Waddle went directly to the blue tent for evaluation.

Waddle, 24, will have to clear the NFL’s protocol if he wants to be on the field Sunday when the Dolphins (2-0) host the Denver Broncos (0-2).

Waddle has eight catches for 164 yards through two games. He has 187 receptions for 2,535 yards and 14 scores in 35 games (all starts) since Miami drafted him with the No. 6 overall pick in 2021.

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel also updated the injury status for running back Salvon Ahmed and linebacker Jaelan Phillips on Monday.

Ahmed exited with a groin injury in the second quarter after rushing for 13 yards and catching three passes for 28 yards.

“It’s not an overly long situation,” McDaniel said of the timetable for Ahmed’s return.

Phillips sat out Sunday’s game after sustaining a back injury in Friday’s practice. The 2021 first-round draft pick (18th overall) was held out for precautionary reasons, McDaniel said.

“From a medical perspective, we thought it wasn’t worth the risk,” the coach said. “Long-term vision, we felt he may be at risk for a bigger issue if he would have played.”

–Field Level Media

Safety Micah Hyde eyes in the ball on the opening day of the Buffalo Bills training camp at St. John Fisher University in Rochester Sunday, July 24, 2022.

Sd 072422 Bills Camp 16 Spts

Bills rule S Micah Hyde, two others out for Sunday

Buffalo won’t have safety Micah Hyde or defensive tackle Jordan Phillips for Sunday’s game at Miami, Bills coach Sean McDermott confirmed Friday.

As expected, cornerback Dane Jackson also was ruled out with a neck injury sustained in a scary collision during Monday night’s win over the Tennessee Titans.

Hyde (neck) and Phillips (hamstring) also were injured in Monday’s victory and have been unable to practice this week.

Hyde, 31, has seven tackles through two games this season, his sixth campaign with Buffalo and 10th in the NFL.

Phillips, 30, has six tackles, four QB hits and 1.5 sacks through two games. He began his career as a second-round pick of the Dolphins in 2015.

McDermott said other players listed on this week’s injury report were expected to participate in Friday’s practice, including wide receiver Gabe Davis (ankle), tight end Dawson Knox (foot) and defensive tackles Ed Oliver (ankle) and Tim Settle (calf).

–Field Level Media

Sep 30, 2021; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Darius Phillips (23) runs with the ball past Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Dakota Allen (53) in the first half at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

Broncos sign ex-Bengals CB Darius Phillips

The Denver Broncos signed veteran cornerback Darius Phillips on Thursday.

The 2018 fifth-round pick played the past four seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals and was released by the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday.

Phillips, 27, had 73 tackles and five interceptions in 47 games (10 starts) for the Bengals. He also returned 30 punts and 25 kickoffs for a combined 854 yards.

The Broncos waived cornerback Essang Bassey in a corresponding move and also signed offensive lineman Will Sherman to the practice squad. He spent most of last season on the practice squad of the New England Patriots.

–Field Level Media

Jul 20, 2022; Charlotte, NC, USA; ACC commissioner Jim Phillips speaks to the media during ACC Media Days at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte.   Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Commissioner Jim Phillips: ACC still place to be

Commissioner Jim Phillips understands the college sports landscape will experience seismic shifts with the likes of UCLA, Oklahoma, Texas and Southern California changing conferences in the near future.

Phillips said he still believes the Atlantic Coast Conference is the place to be, but implored his peers to act with the greater good in mind instead of tending to their own “gated communities.”

“I will continue to do what’s in the best interest of the ACC,” Phillips said at the conference’s media day kickoff on Wednesday. “But will also strongly advocate for college athletics to be a healthy neighborhood, not two or three gated communities.”

Florida State and Clemson have reportedly been active in searching for a new conference, although Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey wouldn’t confirm he spoke with other schools about joining college football’s most dominant league. Sankey also said this week he’s in opposition to expansion of the College Football Playoff — also dominated by SEC powers the likes of Alabama and Georgia — while Phillips said in a rebuttal it’s time to push the playoff to include at-large bids.

“The ACC continues to be supportive of an expanded College Football Playoff. I’m confident our concerns will be addressed and a new model with greater access will ultimately come to pass,” said Phillips, the former Northwestern athletic director.

FOX and ESPN are heavily involved in monetary gains for major conferences and SEC schools could be clearing more than $40 million or $50 million more than ACC schools as soon as the upcoming academic year, Yahoo Sports reported. Phillips acknowledged there is a gap — though he stopped well short of defining the delta — and said “all options are on the table” with regard to ways he’ll consider enticing current ACC members to stick around.

“Any new structure of the NCAA must serve the many, not a collective few,” Phillips said. “We are not the professional ranks. This isn’t the NFL or NBA Lite. This shouldn’t be a winner-take-all or zero-sum structure. College sports have never been elitist or singularly commercial.”

The Big Ten, with widening digital and broadcast markets to include Los Angeles schools UCLA and USC by 2024, could be set to pay as much as $100 million per school by that time, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Current agreements paid ACC schools $35 million to $40 million each in 2021.

“I love our 15 schools and I’m confident in us staying together,” Phillips said. “We continue to remain close in Notre Dame, they know how we feel, they know we’d love to have them as a football member in our conference but I also respect their independence.”

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said Wednesday he is not worried — or breaking any type of news when he declares players don’t come to his program because of the conference.

“Whether the ACC goes to 52 teams or we move to a new ‘megatron-world conference’, I don’t really know,” Swinney said. “But people have never come to Clemson because of the league, honestly. People come to Clemson because we’re Clemson.”

–Field Level Media

Nov 11, 2017; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks helmet during a timeout against LSU Tigers in the first quarter at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

College Hall of Famer, Arkansas legend Phillips dies at 75

Arkansas legend and College Hall of Famer Loyd Phillips has died. He was 75.

The University of Arkansas said Phillips died Sunday morning due to complications from a stroke.

Phillips played defensive tackle for the Razorbacks from 1964-66 and was a two-time consensus All-American. He was a standout on the 1964 team that posted five shutouts and shared the national title and later won the Outland Trophy in 1966 as the nation’s top interior lineman.

“The Razorback Family and college football has lost one of its true legends,” Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek said in a statement. “Loyd Phillips was a ferocious competitor for coach Frank Broyles in what was a truly golden era of Razorback Football. As his accomplishments attest, he established himself among the best to ever play college football.

“However, away from the field, Loyd was a humble gentle giant who made a meaningful difference in the lives of generations of young people in our state through his dedicated service in secondary education. He will be greatly missed.”

According to Arkansas, Phillips recorded 304 tackles during his career. He was inducted into the College Hall of Fame in 1992.

Phillips was a first-round pick (10th overall) in the 1967 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears but his career lasted just 32 games (21 starts) over three seasons. He intercepted two passes in 1968 and recovered a fumble in 1967.

Phillips’ son, Mackenzie, played for Arkansas from 1988-91. His brother, Terry Don Phillips, played at Arkansas from 1966-69 and was an administrator for the school before later serving as athletic director at Oklahoma State and Clemson.

–Field Level Media

Dec 5, 2020; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; A view of the field with the ACC logo in the second quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Reports: Northwestern AD Phillips to be next ACC commish

Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips will be the next commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference, multiple outlets reported.

The announcement could come this week, per the reports.

John Swofford, who has held the position since 1997, announced over the summer that the 2020-21 academic year would be his last as ACC commissioner. He turned 72 earlier this month.

Phillips has been running the Northwestern athletic department since 2008.

The Wildcats’ football team will be playing in its second Big Ten Championship Game in three years on Saturday, and the men’s basketball team made the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever in 2017.

Phillips’ tenure in Evanston, Ill., also included significant facility upgrades, including construction of the $270 million Ryan Fieldhouse and Walter Athletics Center, and the $110 million renovation of Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Phillips served as athletic director at Northern Illinois for four years before he landed at Northwestern.

–Field Level Media