It seems like they have been keeping him out of the big action for the most part, with his role as the pit boss. But they do find a scene each week for him to show some skills, and demonstrate he's just not some big wig in a suit and they seemed to be hinting that he could have shared a similar past to Kane this week.
Kane jumping out of plane with no parachute and landing on his man and wrestling the parachute away from him
Seeing Phillip Winchester on his own can't help remind me of Strike Back where he has a partner to play off of in the field and is more fun. That being said, the show is cool for what it is, not sure if I will keep watching each week though.