Sports

Vikings agree to 2-year extension with run-stopping stalwart Harrison Phillips

Vikings Phillips Football
FILE - Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Harrison Phillips (97) prepares to play the Las Vegas Raiders before an NFL preseason football game, Aug. 10, 2024, in Minneapolis.
Bruce Kluckhohn | AP

The Minnesota Vikings agreed to terms Tuesday on a two-year contract extension with defensive tackle Harrison Phillips, a vital run-stopper who's one of their most consistent players.

The 28-year-old Phillips is in his third season with Minnesota. He had five tackles, one sack, one quarterback hurry and a pass defensed in the season-opening win over the New York Giants, when the Vikings allowed only 240 yards and six points.

Phillips started all 17 games in each of his first two years with the Vikings. He had a career-high 92 tackles last season, the second most in the NFL among defensive linemen behind Derrick Brown (103).

With the 6-foot-3, 307-pound Phillips as the anchor in the middle, the Vikings allowed 3.76 yards per rush in 2023, the fourth-best average in the league.

The native of Omaha, Nebraska, was drafted by Buffalo in the third round out of Stanford in 2018. Phillips was selected one of eight team captains by the Vikings this season. He's a three-time nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award.