Safety Valves
ITB: Need at Safety Still Remains
The Philadelphia Eagles underwent a shuffling at the safety position over the weekend with work still to be done.
On the latest episode of “Inside The Birds,” Geoff Mosher and Adam Caplan provided intel on the Sydney Brown trade and the Eagles’ recent signings.
GETTY IMAGES: The Philadelphia Eagles brought back safety Marcus Epps, who started several games at the end of the 2025 season.
Sydney Brown
Geoff Mosher: “If you have a taker, you go for it. They don’t get much, two swaps on day three, but you weren’t going to get much for Sydney Brown anyway…I know (Jeff) Ulbrich is not a two-high guy, sometimes he’s more of a Cover 1. So if you’re looking for a depth box safety who maybe you think has the upside to become a starter in a defense more structured to his skillset, maybe. But that’s why you don’t give up much for him.”
Adam Caplan: “Here’s what a [personnel guy] brought up: [the Falcons] only have five draft picks and one of those rounds they’re giving up, the fourth round, that’s a high-end backup round…He’s a special teams player, a good one, but they didn’t draft him in the third round to play special teams.”
J.T. Gray
Mosher: “He’ll replace what Sydney Brown was giving the Eagles on special teams, but you’re still looking at the Eagles defense and thinking they’re thin.”
Caplan: “If he sees time on defenses, something is seriously wrong. To give you an idea of how little J.T. Gray has played defense in his career, he has played 2,231 snaps on special teams and 153 on defense.”
Marcus Epps
Mosher: “We think Marcus Epps played at a really good level last year when he had to come in and be the bridge when Sydney Brown wasn’t the guy, but we also felt going into next year, he should be your third safety not your complement to Andrew Mukuba.”
Caplan: “You hope he doesn’t have to start. If he does, you hope it’s not the whole season. But he knows the scheme.”
Michael Carter II
Caplan: “Talking to someone who was there at the time he was drafted with the Jets, yes he was a safety at college, I think Joe Kasper was there at some point. They thought immediately he could be an outstanding nickel…He can play backup nickel and safety.”
– Benjamin Paul is a staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com.
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