Lonnie

Phelps

Phelps was recently arrested for drunk driving after crashing his car into a restaurant and causing nearly $300,000 worth of damage. The 2023 UDFA has yet to appear in a game as a pro and could struggle to latch on with a new team as he goes through his upcoming legal proceedings.

Phelps went undrafted in 2023 and has yet to appear in an NFL game. The second-year defensive end was reportedly taken into custody after refusing to cooperate with officers per a Monroe County Sheriff’s Office police report and did an estimated $300,000 worth of damage.

Phelps (6’2/244) spent his first three seasons at Miami (OH) where he was a two-time All-MAC performer but transferred to play for former MAC HC Lance Leipold, who coached against Phelps when he was at the helm of Buffalo. His step up to the Power Five level worked out perfectly, as Phelps led the Jayhawks with 11.5 TFL and 7.0 sacks en route to being named Second Team All-Big 12. Undersized in stature but not in terms of his effort, he attacks the pocket at a frenetic pace while using side-steps and a nice hop/chop maneuver in order to free himself from blockers’ hands. His arms are a sub-optimal 32” and he sometimes got rag-dolled by better P5 linemen, but Phelps makes up for it with scary burst as is reflected in his 4.55s 40-yard dash (98th%) and 1.57s 10-yard split (97th%). He’s never going to be a factor in the run game, but Phelps has the athleticism (8.45 RAS) and juice off the edge to be a passing down specialist.