Eagles Subtract, Then Add Two To Safety Room With A Trade And Signings

Despite needing safeties, the Eagles decided they had seen enough of the Sydney Brown, sending him to the Atlanta Falcons a in trade where draft picks were involved. The two teams swapped fourth- and sixth-round picks in the deal.

That means the Eagles acquire the Falcons’ 114th and 197th overall picks. In addition to Brown, Atlanta will get Philly’s 122nd and 215th picks. A league source confirmed the deal.

The Eagles made sure that they just didn't subtract from the safety position, adding veteran Marcus Epps, per a league source, moments after the trade was announced. Epps was signed to the practice squad last summer after being released by the Patriots. He was signed to the active roster on Sept. 24 and played in nine games with eight starts. Safety J.T. Gray, who has played mostly special teams in his eight years in the league, was also signed.

Starter Reed Blankenship left in free agency for the Houston Texans, and, even though they brought back Epps, they broke even, personnel-wise, with the trade of Brown, meaning they still need to add at the position, with Drew Mukuba, last year’s second-round pick, who is coming off a broken ankle late in the season, and practice squad player Andre Sam still at the position.

The Eagles also view Michael Carter as a safety, and they restructured his contract to bring him back. Is it enough? Probably not, but general manager Howie Roseman let more capable names in free agency this offseason sign elsewhere.

The draft is next month, so maybe another answer at the position comes then. The Eagles have never taken a safety in the first round, but one who could intrigue them is Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman.

Sydney Brown Was Once A Red-Star Player

As for Brown, it was he who helped everyone learn the term red-star player, someone with high character off the field and high ability on it, but Brown never seemed to be the right fit in defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s system.

Roseman called Brown a red-star player after selecting him in the third round of the 2023 draft out of Illinois. The Eagles had back-to-back picks in that round that year, using No. 65 overall on guard Tyler Steen, then taking Brown at No. 66.

Brown played 14 games as a rookie, with six starts. He even had a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown in a game against the Arizona Cardinals on New Year’s Eve. His future appeared bright, but the following week after his pick-6, he tore his ACL against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.

That was the beginning of the end. With his rehab nearing an end halfway through the season, Brown had to undergo a second surgery on the same knee. It was also the year that Vic Fangio took over as the Eagles’ DC.

In between rehab and another surgery, Brown played 11 games in 2024, mostly on special teams. He had just 79 defensive snaps (12 percent). His playing time didn’t go up much last year, and he played 249 defensive snaps (22 percent). He was third on the team with 13 special team tackles, playing 76 percent of those snaps.

He leaves after playing 42 games, with nine starts, two interceptions, 86 tackles, and two forced fumbles.