Patriots

Adrian Phillips shares why he wanted to stay with Patriots, plus Patriots postgame vs. Jaguars

"You kind of get this stigma about Foxborough. ... Then you get here, and you see like, ‘Ah, it ain’t like that at all.'"

By Tom Westerholm

January 2, 2022

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Patriots safety Adrian Phillips broke into a smile as he stepped to the podium following the Patriots’ 50-10 beatdown against the Jaguars on Sunday, which only broadened when a reporter noted that Phillips will stay in town for a while.

“Yeah, I’m here for a little while longer,” Phillips said. “I’m glad to be here.”

Phillips and the Patriots agreed to a reported three-year, $12.75 million extension that could be worth up to $14.25 million, per Adam Schefter of ESPN. Phillips said the contract is a “big weight” off his shoulders.

“I knew the talks had been going on for a while, but I just kind of stayed out of it just because I wanted to work on the season, but last week they kind of picked up a lot, and then we were able to get something done, we were able to get an agreement,” Phillips said.

Phillips added that being coached by Bill Belichick was one of the reasons he wanted to stay, as well as the Patriots’ culture.

“I talked about this before, but from the outside in you kind of get this stigma about Foxborough, like there’s no fun here, blah blah blah, whatever it is,” Phillips said. “Then you get here, and you see like, ‘Ah, it ain’t like that at all.’ It’s really just hard work. You do your job, you win games, you have fun going to the postseason. …

“This is a city built on football, and I just love it. So it was easy for me to be able to get something worked out to stay here.”

More from Patriots postgame

– Matt Judon played limited snaps against the Jaguars after returning from COVID protocols. He said he was feeling “much better” after the game.

“Just on Zoom calls, Zoom meetings, that’s really all you can do,” Judon said. “Kind of run a little bit but try not to get my heart rate up. … It’s still a lot of unknowns [with COVID] so you still try to relax your body, but it kind of sucks in the heart of the season that I can’t move and stuff. But I’m fine.”

– The Patriots clinched a playoff berth with Miami’s loss to the Titans in addition to their win, but — true to the team’s form — most players downplayed the accomplishment.

“Yeah, not really focused on that,” center David Andrews said. “We have to play this week. Got a big game, playoffs don’t start for another week. So we’ll deal with that when we deal with that. We’ll focus on Miami this week.”

“We haven’t done much,” Judon said. “We still have to fight, we still have to play, we still have to scratch and claw, and come in here and make sure we ready for the next opponent.”

– Mac Jones — a Jacksonville native — was asked about clinching a playoff spot against his hometown team.

“I think it was cool,” Jones said. “When you’re a kid growing up, whatever team you root for or whatever, you get a chance to play against them, it’s always fun to go out there and compete. …

“They came out there and fought and all that, and I think we just did a good job playing a good team game together.”

– Rhamondre Stevenson and Damien Harris combined for 142 yards, 28 carries and four touchdowns.

“Rhamondre is a great player, but he’s an even better person,” Harris said. “Getting to share the locker room with great guys like him, Brandon Bolden, James White … just to be a part of this team that has so many great guys that are great men on top of just being great football players, I feel very fortunate. …

“This is a special team, special group, and I think you guys can see how much we all appreciate each other.”

Stevenson called the running back room a “brotherhood.”

“We all just feed off each other, and it’s always positive,” Stevenson said. “We never have anything negative to say to each other. We do sharpen each other’s tools and things like that, but it’s all love. I just appreciate all them in that running back room.”

– After both of his touchdowns, Harris went to the crowd and handed a fan his touchdown ball. He wants to make that a habit.

“If I can give just give someone a touchdown ball, it’s a great feeling,” Harris said. “I remember back in the Dallas game, I gave a fan a ball and just seeing the reactions on her face afterward, it made me feel inspired because I feel like that every time I step on this field. …

“I just love being able to share the enthusiasm, the pride, the happiness, not only with my teammates but also with the fans that make the game so special as well.”

– Kristian Wilkerson, who has spent most of the season on the team’s practice squad, played in just his third game and caught both his first and second career touchdowns. He caught four passes for 42 yards total.

“Just doing whatever I can to help the team win,” Wilkerson said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a catch or blocking, just do whatever I can to help the team win.”

Wilkerson credited Jakobi Meyers for supporting him.

“He really took me in this summer and just looked out for me, told me what I needed to know,” Wilkerson said. “I ask him questions all the time. One of the smartest guys I’ve been around football-wise. I can go on and on talking about Jakobi man, great player, great teammate, great person. I love him.”

Meyers, who went undrafted as well and followed a similar route to the NFL, praised Wilkerson’s work ethic.

“It was amazing honestly, just understanding where he came from — undrafted, guys probably doubting you, you just waiting on your moment, working hard every day,” Meyers said. “He’s in here at 6 o’clock every morning, so just seeing him go out there and make plays that we all knew he could make, now everybody get to see it and I’m real happy for him.”

– Judon was complimented by a reporter for a second time this season for his postgame attire, who asked when the Patriots were going to help Mac Jones with his own postgame drip.

Judon cackled.

“It’s a lost cause, you feel me?” Judon said. “I’m going to keep it 100, Mac’s a football player and that’s about it. Great guy, football player, but drip is not him. Let him do what he do man, don’t try to change the guy.”