Despite losing starting safety Reed Blankenship to the Texans in free agency, the Eagles did not make any major moves to replace him in the offseason. That will leave Marcus Epps and Michael Carter II to compete for a starting spot in training camp, per Zach Berman of The Athletic.
The 30-year-old Epps is in his second stint with Philadelphia, where he first played from 2019-2022. Epps was a full-time starter in the last of those seasons, but a few weeks after the Chiefs upended the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII, he signed a two-year, $12MM pact with the Raiders. After Epps put together his second straight 17-start season in his first year in Las Vegas, he suffered a torn ACL in 2024 and missed 14 games.
Epps joined the Patriots as a free agent in March 2025, but he returned to the Eagles after the Pats cut him in late August. The 6-foot, 190-pounder operated as a depth defender/special teamer for most of the year, but starting safety Andrew Mukuba‘s season-ending ankle injury in November opened up more playing time for Epps. He ended the season with 21 tackles over a dozen games (four starts) and 250 defensive snaps. Epps hit free agency again in March, but he wound up staying in Philadelphia on a one-year, $1.55MM deal that includes just $125K in guarantees.
The Eagles’ agreement with Epps became public shortly after they traded fellow safety Sydney Brown to the Falcons on March 20. Four months later, Epps will enter camp as the front-runner to start over Carter, according to Berman. A lack of safety experience could work against Carter, a former Jet who has spent the vast majority of his five-year career as a slot corner. In 13 games last year between the two teams (the Eagles acquired him in late October), Carter played 113 snaps in the slot, 20 in the box and only two at free safety.
Whether Carter will overtake Epps is up in the air, but the Eagles know Mukuba will remain a starter in his second season. Meanwhile, slot corner extraordinaire Cooper DeJean will work as a safety when the Eagles use their base defense, which was only about 24% of the time last year (via Kevin Kinkead of Crossing Broad). That could allow either Epps or Carter to carve out a notable role in coordinator Vic Fangio‘s defense in 2026.
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