Why was Cowboys DT Jordan Phillips placed on injured reserve? His answer was interesting

The Dallas Cowboys, fresh off a horrid run defense performance from the interior defensive line on Sunday against the Saints, were dealt a blow on Wednesday morning when veteran defensive tackle Jordan Phillips landed on the injured reserve with a wrist injury.

Or were they?

“I don’t know,” Phillips said when asked how the injury came about. “That’s above my pay grade. You have to ask the people making the decisions.”

A Cowboys team official stated that Phillips is dealing with a sprained wrist and the team is being cautious with the veteran.

Phillips, who was acquired via trade with the New York Giants during training camp to add veteran experience and size to the defensive interior, was also hesitant to answer how he felt the coaching from defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and defensive line coach Jeff Zgonina has helped to correct mistakes from the team’s loss against New Orleans.

“I think that’s a hard question to answer,” he said. “I don’t know how to answer these questions without…you know.”

The 10-year veteran did not elaborate further as his frustration showed from the events of the last few days. In all, he sees the defense needing to find themselves in order to correct mistakes moving forward.

“I don’t think effort is an issue,” he said. “The first game was good, the second game was bad. We just have to find an identity…We have to get on the same page. There’s a lot of back-and-forth.”

As a result of him being moved to the injured reserve list, Phillips will be forced to miss at least four games. The earliest he could return off the list and back to the field for the Cowboys would be on Oct. 27 against San Francisco after the team’s bye week.

While Phillips disregarded any current injury, he did suffer an injury to his wrist that required surgery last season while with the Buffalo Bills. Coincidentally, he suffered that injury in a December win over the Dallas Cowboys.

In two games this season, Phillips has accounted for two quarterback pressures and one tackle in a non-starting role behind Osa Odighizuwa at the 3-Tech defensive tackle position.