Vic Fangio’s safety competition finally came to a close Thursday, and the Eagles are going with veteran Marcus Epps to open the season as the starter opposite Drew Mukuba.
That decision had been building for weeks at training camp. Michael Carter II was in the mix, but Epps handled most of the first-team work and held onto the job with steady play rather than splashy moments. Fangio said the choice came down to how Epps carried himself throughout camp.
“He was just solid the whole way through,” Fangio said of Epps. “But we still like Michael and we have the ability to play him some there too.”
In the Eagles’ base defense, Cooper DeJean will line up at safety, which means Epps is positioned to handle roughly 75% of the team’s defensive snaps. The rest of that work will come in a secondary that has been sorting itself out all summer.
For Epps, the nod marks another step in a career that has already taken him through 94 games and 49 starts over eight NFL seasons. He spent 2022 as a full-time starter for the Eagles, then did the same for the Raiders in 2023 before a season-ending injury cut short his 2024 campaign.
His path back to this point has been anything but straightforward. Last summer, the Patriots released him at final cuts, and he landed on the Eagles’ practice squad. From there, he played in 12 games and made four starts for Philadelphia last season, including a stretch where he filled in after Mukuba went down for the year in late November.
“It would mean everything to me,” Epps said late last month about the chance to start again. “I worked real hard to get back to where I’m at.
It was a lot of dark days but I still got work to do. I haven’t arrived by any means.
It’s a long season and we’re still here just in camp. That’s where my focus is, finishing out camp the right way and continuing to get better.”
Epps is stepping into the role left behind by Reed Blankenship, who departed in free agency and joined the Houston Texans in March.
Carter won’t be shut out, though. Fangio made clear the Eagles still have a role in mind for him, with the versatility to move around the defense and help in the dime package as the sixth defensive back.
“Michael is very versatile,” Fangio said. “Can play nickel, can play dime, can play safety and we plan on using him.”
In Other News...
A.J. Browns Patriots Debut Created An Eagles Concern Nobody Wanted
A.J. Browns Patriots debut was supposed to be one of the more watched storylines of the opening week, but it ended with an early exit that immediately shifted the conversation from production to health. Before leaving with an injury in Seattle, Brown had three catches for 26 yards as the Patriots came up short in a 13-10 loss, a frustrating start for a receiver expected to be a major part of the offense.
The concern only grew after Brown was seen in a walking boot following the game, leaving a team already trying to find its footing with Drake Maye under center to monitor a situation it could not afford to see linger. Maye finished 23 of 33 for 178 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions, including a costly late turnover, and now New England heads into matchups with Pittsburgh, Jacksonville and Buffalo with more questions than answers around one of its most important players. [Read more 🡒]
A.J. Browns Patriots Debut Brought Back A Familiar Eagles Concern
A.J. Browns first game with the Patriots offered a quick reminder of why Philadelphia spent so much time worrying about his availability. After being traded away from the Eagles, Brown got on the field for New Englands season opener, but his afternoon ended in the third quarter when an ankle injury forced him out of the game. Before leaving, he managed three catches for 26 yards, and he did not record a completion on any throw that traveled 10 or more air yards.
For Eagles fans, the scene carried a familiar unease because Browns talent was never the issue in Philadelphia, his durability was. His time with the Eagles was marked by injuries that kept him from being the steady, full-strength presence the offense wanted, and his early exit with the Patriots puts that concern right back in the spotlight. The next question is less about whether Brown can produce when hes healthy and more about how often hell actually be able to stay there. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Face A Week 1 Defensive Question They Can't Ignore
The early-week injury reports are already giving the Eagles and Commanders something to watch as Week 1 approaches, with Philadelphia listing Jonathan Greenard and Eli Stowers as limited in practice. For a team trying to set the tone right away, any uncertainty on the defensive side is worth tracking closely, especially when the opener is still several practices away and the rhythm of the week is just beginning to take shape.
Washington added another layer of intrigue by updating its own report, with Daron Payne dealing with a back issue and KLavon Chaisson, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, and Odafe Oweh all limited. For Philadelphia, the bigger issue is less about the paperwork itself and more about how much of this remains fluid heading into the game, since the availability of key defenders could shift the matchup in a meaningful way before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]