Eagles Have Signaled Belief In Underrated Safety

The Eagles aren't looking to replace Reed Blankenship even if many outside the building haven't figured that out.

Nov 26, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles safety Reed Blankenship (32) reacts after a stop on third down against the Buffalo Bills. / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

PHILADELPHIA - It’s becoming evident that until Justin Simmons and Eddie Jackson decide their 2024 futures, many are going to assume interest from the Philadelphia Eagles.

That’s understandable because safety is presumed to be a weakness for the Eagles, both players have arguably played their best while being tutored by Philadelphia defensive coordinator Vic Fangio in other cities, and too many haven’t gotten the memo that torn ACLs are no longer a 12-month injury with modern medical advancements, especially for 24-year-old athletes like Sydney Brown.

The biggest reason many assume it’s not if but when Simmons or Jackson are reunited with Fangio is the lack of belief in second-year starter Reed Blankenship.

If the Eagles share in that sentiment, the organization is doing a wonderful job hiding it. 

From the time, Blankenship showed up at training camp last summer and took the first rep as a starting safety, he’s never relinquished that status, something that continued through offseason work this spring.

Eagles S Reed Blankenship / John McMullen/Eagles SI

The return of C.J. Gardner-Johnson solidifies the opposite safety spot and Brown has targeted Week 1 for his return, a timetable that’s realistic for the second-year “Red-Star” player from Illinois. And even if Brown is off by a week or two, he’s going to be back in the mix early in the season.

That means, if Simmons or Jackson are going to be brought in by the Eagles, it would be as a backup who isn’t going to help much on special teams, certainly not the kind of savvy roster-building perspective GM Howie Roseman has been lauded for.

For now, the versatile Avonte Maddox is likely penned in as the fourth safety to keep as many young cornerbacks as possible on the initial 53.

The only way the big-name crowd gets their wish is if the Eagles' belief in Blankenship stems from a forced waiting game tied to veterans having no interest in spring work.

That ignores the Eagles buying out Blankenship’s restricted free agency year in 2025 with $3,935,000 of guaranteed money this offseason, a similar tact the organization took a few years ago with linebacker T.J. Edwards when the now-Chicago star hit as an undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin.

If Philadelphia perceived Blankenship, a 2022 UDFA out of Middle Tennessee State, as a backup the easy path is to allow him to finish his original UDFA deal and kick the decision on moving forward with him as a bottom-of-the-roster player in 2025.

Furthermore, for those still assuming Blankenship can’t play at the level of the bigger names, understand he was graded out as the 19th best safety in the NFL last season by Pro Football Focus while Simmons was No. 42 and Jackson was No. 76.

Reed Blankenship is a FS prospect in the 2022 draft class. He scored a 8.02 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 173 out of 869 FS from 1987 to 2022. https://t.co/zV7Sh2e2zf #RAS via https://t.co/2DfFuEqgGg pic.twitter.com/6g85ydgZRF

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) May 2, 2022

For others who presume Blankenship is limited athletically, it was that part of his skill set that got him into the door at the NovaCare Complex before his football IQ helped him stand out.

The Eagles' actions with Blankenship have highlighted their belief in the player.

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