In Need Of A Steadying Presence, Eagles Seem Primed To Turn Toward Marcus Epps

PHILADELPHIA - A struggling Eagles' defense is looking for a steadying presence on the back end of the defense with rookie playmaker Drew Mukuba out with a fractured ankle.

While nothing is guaranteed, it looks like a "Back to the Future" plan with Marcus Epps is about to be implemented at SoFi Stadium on Monday night when 8-4 Philadelphia attempts to a halt a two-game skid against the 8-4 Chargers.

While nothing is guaranteed, all signs point to veteran safety taking over opposite his one-time protege Reed Blankenship in the Eagles' secondary.

“Just doing everything I need to do to make sure I get my body right, back to where it needs to be,” Epps, 29, said at his locker after practice on Saturday. “Just getting healthy and making sure I can come back and help the team in any way that they need me to.”

A starter on the Eagles' Super Bowl LVII Super Bowl team, who parlayed that into a solid free-agent deal with the Las Vegas Raiders, Epps started 20 consecutive games in Sin City before a torn ACL cut short his 2024 campaign.

He spent the spring and summer with New England in a part-rehab, part-audition situation and once the Pats moved on, the Eagles were thrilled to bring Epps back, first on the practice squad before elevating back to the 53-man roster on Sept. 24. A shoulder injury cost Epps the past four games and the Los Angeles-area native must be activated off injured reserve to play against the Chargers.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio intimated earlier in the week that was a possibility, noting that Epps could be in the starter conversation if he handles practice well. Epps seemed to check the final boxes on Saturday.

“He’s an experienced safety,” Fangio said. “He’s got good instincts, got good feel for the game. We’ll have to get a feel and a barometer about where he is at missing the last four or five weeks, whatever it was, where he couldn’t practice anyway.”

Third-year player Sydney Brown got the start last week and struggled against the Chicago Bears. Had Epps not been on IR, the veteran would have likely gotten the nod.

If Epps performs well Monday night with plenty of family and friends in attendance it could be his job again for the rest of the season.

“For me, I’m looking at it through a different lens,” Epps said. “I’m staying ready but I’m not really looking at it from a perspective of me and my career. I’m being where my feet are and looking at it from more of a perspective of like, ‘What can I do in the moment that the team needs me, my teammates need me, my coaches need me?’ It’s like I said, whatever I’m needed to do, I’m going to give my full effort toward.”

The strength of Epps' game is his steadiness on the back end and his communication skills, something that could also describe Blankenship, who started in Philadelphia as an undrafted free agent out of Middle Tennessee State when he was mentored by Epps.

“You gotta be able to know what you’re doing and have that confidence in yourself and in the defense to be able to speak up and get guys on the same page and things like that." Epps aid of his role as traffic cop. "You have to kind of just know the pieces of the whole defense, of how the coverages and the systems work and what other people are doing as well to where you can grow and learn how to communicate and make sure everything is set up straight.”

Blankenship has taken those early tips from Epps and run with them over the ensuing years.

“Ever since I got back here, anytime I’m out there with Reed, it’s easier, it’s kind of seamless,” Epps said. “We have that repertoire of playing together in the past. That definitely makes it a lot easier and makes it a smoother transition for me.”

From 2019 to 2022, Epps started 28 games for Philadelphia, including all 20 through Super Bowl LVII for what was the second-ranked defense in the NFL, playing 99% of the snaps in the regular season and 95% in the playoffs.

This season, Epps had played just 15 defensive snaps over eight games, but his full NFL resume includes 90 career games with 45 starts.

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