Epps Leaves Nest

On day one of the legal tampering period in NFL free agency, the Philadelphia Eagles have lost three defensive starters.

Marcus Epps is the latest to leave the nest, agreeing to terms on a two year, $12 million deal with the Las Vegas Raiders.

The #Raiders are signing safety Marcus Epps to a two-year, $12 million deal with nearly $8M guaranteed, per source.

Epps, 27, started all 20 games for Philadelphia last season. Now he cashes in. pic.twitter.com/wX40uLhdNf

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 13, 2023

Epps joined the Eagles late in the 2019 season as a waiver claim, but was able to stick around for multiple seasons as he continued to develop.

The 27-year-old safety was rewarded with a starting position for the first time in 2022 and made the most of it, recording 94 tackles and six pass deflections.

Epps provided a steady hand in the secondary, starting all 17 games in the regular season and three in the postseason with reliable play, even in the five game absence of fellow starting safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

If Gardner-Johnson follows Epps out the door, the Eagles will be down both of their 2022 starting safeties. The team could look towards second-year player Reed Blankenship to help fill the void, who impressed in his four starts.

With defensive lineman Javon Hargrave signing with the 49ers, linebacker T.J. Edwards off to the Bears, and now backend player Epps landing in Vegas, the Eagles stand on opening day of free agent contract negotiations with missing pieces on all three levels of the defense.

– Benjamin Paul is a staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com