Phillip Gaines

Phillip Gaines (born April 4, 1991) is an American football cornerback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Rice.

Phillip Gaines

Gaines with the Kansas City Chiefs
No. 29 – Houston Texans
Position:	Cornerback
Personal information
Born:	(1991-04-04) April 4, 1991 Concord, Massachusetts
Height:	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:	193 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:	Judson (Converse, Texas)
College:	Rice
NFL Draft:	2014 / Round: 3 / Pick: 87
Career history
Kansas City Chiefs (2014–2017) Buffalo Bills (2018) Cleveland Browns (2018) Houston Texans (2019–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
First-team All-Conference USA (2012, 2013)
Career NFL statistics as of 2019
Total tackles: 152 Forced fumbles: 2 Fumble recoveries: 0 Pass deflections: 18 Interceptions: 1 Player stats at NFL.com

High school career

Gaines attended Judson High School in Converse, Texas, where he played football and ran track. He totalled 110 tackles and four interceptions during his two seasons, and blocked five kicks as a senior, leading Judson to the state title game played at Rice Stadium.[1] Academically, he had a 3.7 GPA.

As a track and field athlete, Gaines was ranked as one of the top 110m hurdlers in the state as a senior. As a junior, he ran a leg on Judson's 4 × 100 m relay squad that finished third at the state track meet, with a school-record time of 40.91 seconds. At the 2009 Texas Relays, he placed 7th in the 110-meter hurdles with a PR time of 14.09 seconds.[2] He took silver in the long jump at the 2009 Converse Wagner Meet, with a leap of 6.70 meters (21 ft 11 in).[3] He recorded a personal-best time of 38.54 seconds in the 300-meter hurdles at the 2009 District 27-5A Meet, winning the event.[4]

Gaines was regarded as a two-star recruit by Rivals.com.[5] Gaines first got his recognition while starring in high school as the overall mvp at the national underclassmen combine and showcase hosted by NUCSports.com and David Schuman

College career

Gaines attended Rice University from 2009 to 2013. As a true freshman, he played in nine games, starting six, before an injury vs. SMU ended his season. He recorded 28 total tackles and broke up three passes. In 2010, he played in all 12 games, recording 64 tackles, including two for loss, and six pass break ups. In 2011, he played in only five games, including three starts, before sustaining an injury at Southern Miss, and was given a medical redshirt. In 2012, he started all 13 games, recording 33 tackles, and 18 pass break ups, which led the Conference USA and was second nationally, and earned himself consensus C-USA honors. In 2013, he was named the Conference USA Pre-season Defensive Player of the Year.[6] He was suspended for the opening game of the season vs. Texas A&M, due to violation of team rules.[7] He went on to start the next 12 games of the season, recording 36 tackles, including four for loss, four interceptions and nine pass break ups, and was named first team All-C-USA for the second consecutive season.

Gaines set a school record by breaking up 38 passes in his career.

Professional career

On January 11, 2014, it was reported that Gaines had accepted his invitation to play in the 2014 East–West Shrine Game.[8] The week leading up to the game, Gaines made a lot of plays and impressed multiple scouts.[9] On January 18, 2014, Gaines recorded one solo tackle and led both teams with three pass break ups to help former Atlanta Falcons' head coach Jerry Glanville's East team defeat the West 23-13.[10] Gaines was one of 38 cornerbacks and 59 collegiate defensive backs to receive an invitation to perform at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana.[11] He had a spectacular performance at the combine and completed all of the combine and positional drills. He tied TCU's Jason Verrett for the second best 40-yard dash time among defensive backs at the combine, finishing only behind Oklahoma State's Justin Gilbert. Gaines also finished second in the three-cone drill among his position group behind Oregon's Terrance Mitchell.[12] On March 17, 2014, Gaines opted to participate at Rice's pro day, along with ten other prospects. He chose to stand on his combine numbers and only ran positional drills for scouts and team representatives from 23 NFL teams.[13] Gaines had private visits or workouts with the Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants, and Miami Dolphins.[14][15][16][17][18] At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Gaines received multiple different draft projections, varying from a projection as early as the second round (NFLDraftScout.com and Bleacher Report) to as late as the fourth or fifth round (NFL.com).[19] He was ranked as the seventh best cornerback prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.[20]

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand size	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench press
6 ft 0 ^3⁄8 in (1.84 m)	193 lb (88 kg)	31 ^7⁄8 in (0.81 m)	9 ^5⁄8 in (0.24 m)	4.38 s	1.49 s	2.57 s	4.04 s	6.62 s	36 ^1⁄2 in (0.93 m)	10 ft 2 in (3.10 m)	11 reps
All values from NFL Combine[21]

Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs selected Gaines in the third round (87th overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft.[22] He was the eighth cornerback selected in 2014.

2014

On May 15, 2014, the Chiefs signed him to a four-year, $2.82 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $549,112.[23]

Throughout his first training camp, he competed with Brandon Flowers, Chris Owens, Marcus Cooper, Jamell Fleming, and Ron Parker for a job as the starting cornerback.[24] Head coach Andy Reid named him the sixth cornerback on the depth chart to start the regular season, behind Smith, Cooper, Owens, Parker, and Fleming. He made his professional regular season debut in the Kansas City Chiefs' season-opening 26-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans. On September 24, 2014, he recorded his first career tackle and finished with two combined tackles during a 34-15 win at the Miami Dolphins.

On October 5, 2014, Gaines suffered a concussion during a 22-17 loss at the San Francisco 49ers. The following game, he earned his first career start as the nickelback after Chris Owens was unable to play due to an injury.[25][26] He completed the 23-20 victory at the San Diego Chargers with one pass deflection. On November 16, 2014, Gaines earned his third career start and collected a season-high five solo tackles in the Chiefs 24-20 victory against the Seattle Seahawks. Gaines started in place of Marcus Cooper who was benched after an underwhelming performance while replacing Jamell Fleming who suffered a hamstring injury.[27][28] On December 10, 2014, Gaines suffered a concussion during practice and remained in the concussion protocol for the Chiefs' 31-13 victory against the Oakland Raiders.[29] He went on to miss Weeks 16-17 with an unspecified illness.[30] Gaines finished his rookie season in 2014 with 20 combined tackles and four pass deflections in five starts and 13 games.[31][32]

2015

Gaines entered training camp facing major competition for the starting cornerback job against 2015 first round pick Marcus Peters, Marcus Cooper, Jamell Fleming, and Sanders Commings.[33] Head coach Andy Reid named him the starting cornerback, along with the rookie Peters, after Sean Smith was suspended for the first three games due to a violation of the league's substance abuse policy.

On September 17, 2015, Gaines recorded a season-high four combined tackles during a 31-24 loss to the Denver Broncos. The following game, he recorded two solo tackles in a 38-28 loss at the Green Bay Packers, but left in the first quarter after tearing his ACL.[34] On September 30, 2015, he was placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.[35] Gaines finished the 2015 season with six combined tackles (five solo) in three games and three starts.[36]

2016

Gaines competed against Steven Nelson, Kenneth Acker, KeiVarae Russell, and Eric Murray for the starting cornerback job left by the departure of Sean Smith during free agency to the Oakland Raiders. He was named the starting cornerback opposite Marcus Peters to start the 2016 season.[37]

On September 25, 2016, Gaines a recorded season-high seven solo tackles and forced a fumble in the Chiefs' 24-3 victory over the New York Jets. Unfortunately, he left in the fourth quarter after suffering a knee injury related to his ACL tear and was unable to play in the Chiefs' Week 4 game where they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 43-14.[38] On October 30, 2016, he made four solo tackles, deflected two passes, and had his first career interception off of a pass attempt by Indianapolis Colts' quarterback Andrew Luck during a 30-14 victory. He missed four more games throughout the season and lost his starting cornerback job to Steven Nelson and Terrance Mitchell.[39] He finished the 2016 season with a total of 44 combined tackles (42 solo), seven pass deflections, and an interception in 11 games and five starts.[40]

2017

Gaines competed with Steven Nelson, Terrance Mitchell, D. J. White, and Kenneth Acker in training camp for the job as the starting cornerback.[41] He was named the backup behind Peters, Mitchell, and Acker.

In the Kansas City Chiefs' season-opener at the New England Patriots, Gaines recorded four solo tackles in their 42-27 victory. On October 8, 2016, he made his first start of the season and collected three combined tackles during a 42-34 win at the Houston Texans. The next game, Gaines made a season-high five combined tackles as Kansas City lost 19-13 to the Pittsburgh Steelers.[42] He played in 14 games with three starts before suffering a dislocated elbow in Week 17. He was placed on injured reserve on January 3, 2018.[43] After the season, he became a free agent for the first time in his career.

Buffalo Bills

On March 29, 2018, the Buffalo Bills signed Gaines to a one-year, $835,000 contract.[23][44] He played in seven games, starting six, before being released on November 6, 2018.[45]

Cleveland Browns

On November 7, 2018, Gaines was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns.[46]

The Browns re-signed Gaines on March 19, 2019.[47] He was placed on injured reserve on August 31, 2019.[48] He was released from injured reserve with an injury settlement on September 7.

Houston Texans

On September 10, 2019, Gaines was signed by the Houston Texans.[49] He was placed on injured reserve on October 21, 2019.

On March 18, 2020, Gaines re-signed with the Texans.[50]

NFL statistics

Season		Games		Tackles				Fumbles			Interceptions
Year	Team	GP	GS	COMB	TOT	AST	SACK	FF	FR	YDS	PD	INT	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD
2014	KC	13	5	20	20	0	0.0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	0
2015	KC	3	3	6	5	1	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2016	KC	11	5	44	42	2	0.0	2	0	0	7	1	0	0	0	0
2017	KC	14	3	30	23	7	0.0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0
2018	BUF	7	6	30	24	6	0.0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
	CLE	4	0	9	7	2	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Career		52	22	139	121	18	0.0	2	0	0	16	1	0	0	0	0

[51]

Key

• GP: games played
• COMB: combined tackles
• TOTAL: total tackles
• AST: assisted tackles
• SACK: sacks
• FF: forced fumbles
• FR: fumble recoveries
• FR YDS: fumble return yards
• PD: passes defensed
• INT: interceptions
• IR YDS: interception return yards
• AVG IR: average interception return
• LNG: longest interception return
• TD: interceptions returned for touchdown

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 14, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. http://tx.milesplit.com/meets/45130/results/87229
3. http://tx.milesplit.com/meets/47332/results/87897
4. http://tx.milesplit.com/meets/46825/results/88330
5. Phillip Gaines - Yahoo Sports
6. Gaines Named C-USA Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
7. Rice star Phillip Gaines is suspended for opener vs. Texas A&M
8. "2014 East-West Shrine Game rosters". NFL.com. January 11, 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
9. Goon, Kyle (January 17, 2014). "Utah State's Nevin Lawson playing in East-West Shrine game Saturday". sltrib.com. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
10. "East-West Shrine Game: 2014 stats". shrinegame.com. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
11. "Draft prospects invited to 2014 NFL Scouting Combine". NFL.com. February 12, 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
12. Brandon Lee Gowton (February 25, 2014). "NFL Combine 2014: Cornerback and Safety Workout Results". BleedingGreenNation.com. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
13. Danny Kelly (April 23, 2014). "Coffee & Cigarettes: NFL Draft Pro Day roundup". FieldGulls.com. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
14. Brian Galliford (April 10, 2014). "Odell Beckham Jr, Phillip Gaines visit the Buffalo Bills". buffalorumblings.com. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
15. Walter Cherepinsky (May 5, 2014). "2014 NFL Draft Prospect Visits: Sorted by Team". walterfootball.com. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
16. Sander Philipse (April 10, 2014). "2014 NFL Draft Visits: Tracking the Buccaneers' interest". BucsNation.com. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
17. Jordan Raanan (May 6, 2014). "NFL Draft 2014: Giants pre-draft visits, workouts". NJ.com. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
18. Jason Marcum (April 29, 2014). "Phillip Gaines has met with Cincinnati Bengals". cincyjungle.com. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
19. Ian Warton (March 10, 2014). "Phillip Gaines NFL Draft 2014: Highlights, Scouting Report for Chiefs CB". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
20. "Phillip Gaines, DS #7 CB, Rice". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
21. "NFL Draft Profile: Phillip Gaines". NFL.com. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
22. "Kansas City Chiefs select CB Phillip Gaines with 87th pick". ArrowheadPride.com. May 9, 2014.
23. "Spotrac.com: Phillip Gaines contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
24. "ourlads.com: Kansas City Chiefs: 10/01/2017". Ourlads.com. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
25. rotowire (October 15, 2014). "Phillip Gaines". thescore.com. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
26. rotowire (October 19, 2014). "Chiefs announce inactives for Week 7 vs. Chargers". cbssports.com. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
27. Herbie Teope (August 6, 2015). "Chiefs' CB Marcus Cooper focused, committed to rebounding from 2014 season". ChiefsDigest.com. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
28. Michael Hurcomb (October 26, 2014). "Chiefs CB Jamell Fleming leaves game due to hamstring injury". CBSsports.com. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
29. Terez Paylor (December 17, 2014). "Defensive end Allen Bailey, cornerback Phillip Gaines return to Chiefs practice after concussions". kansascity.com. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
30. Terez Paylor (December 28, 2014). "Cornerback Phillip Gaines will sit Sunday vs. Chargers". KansasCity.com. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
31. "NFL Player stats: Phillip Gaines (2014)". NFL.com. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
32. "NFL Player Profile: Phillip Gaines-Game logs". NFL.com. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
33. "Ourlads.com: Kansas City Chiefs depth chart: 07/01/2015". Ourlads.com. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
34. Adam Teicher (September 30, 2015). "Chiefs lose CB Phillip Gaines for rest of season with torn ACL". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
35. Paylor, Terez A. (September 30, 2015). "Chiefs corner Phillip Gaines will miss season because of ACL tear". KansasCity.com. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
36. "NFL Player stats: Phillip Gaines (2015)". NFL.com. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
37. "Ourlads.com: Kansas City Chiefs' depth chart: 10/01/2016". Ourlads.com. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
38. Blair Kerkoff (September 25, 2016). "Chiefs' Phillip Gaines leaves game with knee injury". Kansascity.com. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
39. Wesley Rosech (December 21, 2016). "No practice for Phillip Gaines, Justin Houston on Wednesday". chiefswire.usatoday.com. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
40. "NFL Player stats: Phillip Gaines (2016)". NFL.com. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
41. "Ourlads.com: Kansas City Chiefs' depth chart: 7/01/2017". Ourlads.com. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
42. "NFL Player stats: Phillip Gaines (2017)". Retrieved December 13, 2017.
43. "Chiefs place CB Phillip Gaines on IR, sign DT Stefan Charles". USAToday.com. January 3, 2018.
44. Brown, Chris (March 29, 2018). "Bills add CB Phillip Gaines". BuffaloBills.com.
45. Brown, Chris (November 6, 2018). "Bills release CB Phillip Gaines; CB Levi Wallace called up from practice squad". BuffaloBills.com.
46. "Browns claim DBs Phillip Gaines, Jermaine Whitehead". ClevelandBrowns.com. November 7, 2018.
47. "Browns re-sign DB Phillip Gaines". ClevelandBrowns.com. March 19, 2019.
48. "Browns cut roster to 53 players". ClevelandBrowns.com. August 31, 2019.
49. Williams, Charean (September 10, 2019). "Texans release Aaron Colvin, sign Phillip Gaines". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
50. Alper, Josh (March 14, 2020). "Texans sign Phillip Gaines to one-year deal". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
51. "Phillip Gaines Stats". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved February 13, 2015.

External links

• Houston Texans bio
• Rice Owls bio