Cooper DeJean Says Goodbye to Reed Blankenship As Eagles Teammate Heads to Texans

Blankenship, left, and DeJean, right, host a podcast together: "Exciting Mics." | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Free agent Reed Blankenship is headed to the Texans ... but what this means for his Exciting Mics podcast with former Eagles teammate Cooper DeJean, we don't yet know.

Per multiple reports, the 27-year-old safety, who won Super Bowl LIX with Philly, is headed down south to the tune of $24.75 million across three years, with $16.5 million guaranteed. Despite his somewhat rocky 2025 campaign, Blankenship will now join a defense that finished the year as the best in the league.

In the aftermath of the news, Birds cornerback Dejean was quick to share a tribute to his friend:

"Damn, gonna miss my dawg. Go be great brotha," wrote the Iowa export, alongside a "red heart" emoji.

Damn, gonna miss my dawg. Go be great brotha❤️ https://t.co/UUiJFUFieX

— Cooper DeJean (@cooperdejean) March 9, 2026

After signing with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2022, Blankenship rose through the ranks to become a key contributor in the Philadelphia secondary, where he started 50 games over the past four seasons. He boasts 308 career tackles, 23 passes defended and nine interceptions.

DeJean and Blankenship's friendship

Although they spent just two seasons together, DeJean and Blankenship became close friends while breaking up passes in the City of Brotherly Love. Case in point: both inside the team and out, the pair became known as the "Exciting Whites," a riff on a popular online meme and the phrase from which their podcast title was born.

“It’s going to be a little different if he’s not back,” DeJean said earlier this offseason, asked about the possibility of Blankenship's departure. “Obviously just a guy I’ve spent a lot of time with. We’ve got a great connection on and off the field. But he’s gotta do what’s best for him and his family and his people around him. I know he’ll do that. I obviously hope it’s back in Philly. I’m sure everybody would love to have him back. But he’s played well over the past however many years he’s been in the league and he deserves to get paid. I hope it’s in Philly, for sure.”

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