Eagles Signing Kenny Moore Could Lead To Another Bold Move At Safety

The Eagles are expected to sign veteran defensive back Kenny Moore to their practice squad with the idea of playing up his versatility.

Oct 26, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indianapolis Colts cornerback Kenny Moore II (23) celebrates a sack during the first quarter against the Tennessee Titans at Lucas Oil Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Eagles are expected to sign veteran defensive back Kenny Moore to their practice squad, according to an NFL source. 

Moore, 31, is a former Pro Bowl selection who played nine seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and started 111 career games. At his height he was regarded as one of the league's best slot cornerbacks.

While not necessarily directly -- the Eagles lost practice squad cornerback Robert Longerbeam to Atlanta and Moore could simply be a more accomplished replacement -- the belief in the league is that the Moore move has more to so with safety after veteran Marcus Epps struggled mightily in the Week 2 win over Tennessee. 

The Eagles now have three players with slot/safety versatility, including All-Pro Cooper DeJean, who has been playing safety in base defensive looks before dropping down into the slot in nickel looks, with Epps rotating in opposite second-year man Drew Mukuba.

Michael Carter, who was also one of the better slots in football earlier in his career with New York Jets battled Epps for the nickel job during training camp but came up short. Part of that, however, is that defensive coordinator Vic Fangio likes Carter's versatility as a backup at safety and slot while also serving as the team's dime back.

Enter Moore, who puts a third pawn in play with similar versatility, giving Fangio optionality.

A Bold Move?

Jun 10, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean (33) runs a drill during minicamp at Jefferson Health Training Complex. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The path forward could be as simple as Carter or Moore replacing Epps in the nickel defense. The bolder move would be putting DeJean on the back end fulltime to completely calm down the safety issues and rolling the dice that either Carter or Moore could recapture the magic inside.

The Colts released Moore in May after he requested a trade earlier in the offseason. According to Pro Football Focus nearly 78% of Moore's NFL snaps have come in the slot, box or defensive line (6,046 total) vs. 1,634 reps at outside cornerback (21.1%), and only 58 snaps (0.7%) at safety, making the idea of Moore playing on the back end a complete projection.

Fangio, though, values coverage most of all with his safeties and considers slot and safety as a somewhat mirrored position.

GM Howie Roseman has given his well-regarded DT multiple avenues to fix the biggest hole on the defense.

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