Cooper DeJean Won't Be Part Of Any Eagles' Secondary Changes Going Forward

Don't count on Cooper DeJean moving to safety. Vic Fangio says it's not happening.

Fangio continued his one-word answer when asked if DeJean was going to continue to play the slot -- yeah. DeJean will remain as the slot cornerback during the season, so he won't factor into the safety plans outside of playing there in base defense.

DeJean has allowed two touchdown passes in the slot this season, allowing 66.7% of his passes to be completed and a 125.7 passer rating as the primary defender in coverage. He's struggled in coverage, but so has the entire secondary outside of the starting outside cornerbacks.

The middle of the field is wide open due to the lack of the pass rush and the opposing quarterback getting rid of the ball quick. That leaves DeJean and the linebackers in coverage exposed, which inflates their coverage numbers.

DeJean is an All-Pro slot cornerback, so the Eagles will keep him there for now. There are changes at safery coming.

What changes are coming?

The Eagles split the snaps between Marcus Epps and Michael Carter in Week 3. Epps played 38% of the snaps at safety and Carter played 28%, so the changes there were evident.

That rotation is expected to continue there this week, per Fangio.

"That was the plan all week," Fangio said regarding the second safety position. "We practiced it that way and we played them both."

"Those two guys are still going to man it. We're just kind of rotating them. It's not so much situationally as it is rotating them."

Fangio said the goal is to find one safety, but why would it be Epps? Monday's loss to the Bears appeared to be Epps' last chance, and he finished with two missed tackles while allowing two completions for 29 yards as the primary defender in coverage -- a 118.8 rating.

In three games as a starter, Epps has five missed tackles and has allowed a 118.8 passer rating in coverage.

Carter wasn't any better, allowing two completions on two targets for 10 yards. This is Carter's first season at safety after playing nickel corner for the majority of his career. Carter is going to get more of an opportunity to win the job.

What about Kenny Moore?

The Eagles signed Moore to the active roster after Moore admitted other teams were trying to sign him off their practice squad. A source told Eagles On SI's John McMullen the Dallas Cowboys were one of them before they traded for Joey Porter Jr.

Kenny Moore confirmed that there was another team about to offer a spot on the 53. An NFL source said that was the #Cowboys, who traded for Joey Porter Jr. last night. https://t.co/BcPPrfmAQK
— John McMullen (@JFMcMullen) October 1, 2026

Is Moore ready to play safety? The Eagles are going to find out eventually, but Fangio is siding with caution on putting him back there.

"Well, he's a down the line possibility, maybe," Fangio said. "He's really never played safety in his career, so it'd be some heavy lifting for him on the immediate return."

The Eagles may need another week or two before giving Moore a shot, but he's on the active roster. There's a good chance Moore will get some snaps in the secondary.

The snap counts showed there was a change in the secondary in Week 3. There may be more of a balance of snaps against the Rams.

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