Marcus Epps knows exactly what it feels like to have a place in Philadelphia, lose it, and then fight his way back.
He was on the field for every snap of the Eagles’ 38-35 loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII, lining up next to C.J. Gardner-Johnson on the back end and finishing the 2022 regular season third on the team with 95 tackles. He logged nearly 1,100 defensive snaps across 17 games that year, then left a month later for Las Vegas on a two-year, $12 million deal that included $10 million guaranteed.
Epps looked like he was still climbing. He played 91 percent of the snaps for an eight-win Raiders team before injury changed everything. A torn ACL in Week 3 of the 2024 season derailed his run, and the Raiders cut him at the end of training camp last summer.
Philadelphia brought him back anyway.
The Eagles signed Epps to their practice squad, elevated him during the season, and he wound up appearing in 12 games. That was enough for the team to give him a one-year contract this offseason, around the same time they dealt Sydney Brown to the Falcons.
Now, at Day 16 of Eagles training camp, Epps is trying to turn that second chance into a spot on the 53-man roster. He’s in a competition with Michael Carter for a starting job on the back end of the defense, but the bigger picture is simply sticking around.
“I worked real hard to get back to where I'm at,” said Epps after Day 16 of Eagles training camp. “There was a lot of dark days, but I still got work to do. I haven't arrived by any means…
“That ACL rehab is, is really tough, both physically and mentally. Like I said, it was definitely a lot of dark days, a lot of days of just wondering or being unsure about the future.
But, you know, the biggest thing, I just put my head down, I grinded it out (and) tried to stay as positive as I could. I'm just blessed to be in this position I'm in now after going through that.”
For Epps, the job right now is about staying steady and sharpening the parts of his game that still need work.
“Just trying to stay grounded and keep my head down and keep on working,” he said. “You know, still got a lot of things I gotta work on and clean up, so that's where my focus is, just continuing to get better.”
He’s 30 now, which makes this chapter feel different from the one that started when he first came to Philadelphia in 2019 after a stint with the Vikings. Back then, he was 23 and trying to carve out a future.
He spent four seasons with the Eagles, then moved on to Las Vegas. Now he’s back, older and wiser, and hoping this version of the story ends with him staying put.
“This is a special place to me,” he said. “It's like a second home. I just love being here, love working with the people in this building….
He also sees value in the role he can play for the younger players around him.
“It's cool being the older guy, being able to be somebody that the younger guys could lean on, continue to pass down knowledge and pass down game to these guys,” he said. “I don't take that for granted. It's an important role in every locker room, and I don't take it for granted.”
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