Eagles training camp safety picture tightens as Marcus Epps and Michael Carter II compete for a starting job

The Philadelphia Eagles will head into training camp with a starting safety spot up for grabs, after Reed Blankenship left in free agency and the team did not make a major offseason addition to replace him. Per Zach Berman of The Athletic, the clearest competition is between veteran Marcus Epps and Michael Carter II, two players expected to push for the job as camp begins.

Epps, 30, enters camp as a known quantity in Philadelphia’s secondary and special teams, and the fit is more than just familiarity. According to reports, this is his second stint with the Eagles. He first played for the team from 2019 to 2022, including a full-time starting role in the final year of that run, before his career took him to the Las Vegas Raiders after the Kansas City Chiefs beat Philadelphia in Super Bowl LVII.

Epps’ path back to the Eagles has also been shaped by injury and role changes. The reports indicate he signed a two-year deal worth $12 million with the Raiders and, after producing a 17-start season in his first year there, suffered a torn ACL in 2024 that caused him to miss 14 games. After that, he joined the New England Patriots as a free agent in March 2025, only to return to Philadelphia later in the year when New England released him in late August.

Once back in Philadelphia, Epps’ role was initially described as depth and special teams work for most of the season. The reports add that a season-ending ankle injury to starting safety Andrew Mukuba in November opened up more playing time, and Epps finished the year with 21 tackles over a dozen games, including four starts, along with 250 defensive snaps. That matters for the camp competition because it provides a recent baseline of how he performs when the safety duties expand rather than when he is purely a supporting option.

The other side of the competition, Carter, brings a different profile. The reported rationale is that Carter has spent most of his five-year career as a slot corner, which means he would need to show how comfortable he is when asked to handle a full-time safety starter’s responsibilities. The reports also frame that experience gap as a possible advantage for Epps, even as Carter’s defensive versatility keeps him in the conversation for the starting role.

Philadelphia’s decision to lean into an internal competition also hints at how the Eagles view their defensive identity. Under that approach, camp becomes less about plugging a single missing piece and more about confirming which veteran can run the role with enough consistency to stabilize the back end. Even with other defensive pieces in motion, the safety starter decision is likely to serve as one of the practical indicators for what defensive look the coaching staff intends to prioritize as the season approaches.

What to watch next is straightforward. In camp, the Eagles’ reps, coverage assignments, and third-down usage should reveal whether they see Epps as the default starter who deserves continuity, or whether Carter’s work convinces the staff to trust him more heavily from the outset. Either outcome shapes the secondary’s depth and the way the Eagles can deploy safeties and cornerbacks in tandem, particularly against offenses that stress matchups in space.