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Reed Blankenship

Eagles Extend S Reed Blankenship

April 1st, 2024 at 3:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

3:07pm: The Eagles will give Blankenship $3.94MM fully guaranteed over the next two years, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo tweets. Another $1.38MM is available in Pro Bowl- and playing time-based incentives. The third-year safety would receive $375K by playing 70% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps, which he did last year. That number would spike to $875K if Blankenship reaches the 90% rate; he fell short of that in 2023. The Pro Bowl component would bring a $500K bonus.

2:14pm: Reed Blankenship spent last season as a full-time safety starter for the Eagles. The team is making a move that will keep the former UDFA under contract beyond the 2024 season.

Blankenship’s rookie deal runs through 2024; he entered Monday eligible for restricted free agency next year. The Eagles reached a deal that will bypass the RFA process; the new contract runs through 2025. This will keep Blankenship signed until he is eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2026.

While the Eagles ran into considerable trouble on defense last season, Blankenship was a bright spot. He intercepted three passes, made 113 tackles (18 more than any other Eagle last season) and added 11 pass breakups. The Middle Tennessee State product finished the season ranked as Pro Football Focus’ No. 19 safety.

The Eagles saw Blankenship, a 2022 post-draft signee, become a locked-in starter after they let Super Bowl LVII regulars C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Marcus Epps walk in free agency. Despite Philly signing Terrell Edmunds and drafting Sydney Brown in Round 3, Blankenship remained a regular whom Kevin Byard joined upon being acquired before the trade deadline.

The Eagles have made some changes at safety once again. Brown went down with an ACL tear in January, and the team released Byard despite trading two draft picks for him in October. Philly turned back to Gardner-Johnson this year, giving the brash DB a three-year, $27MM deal that includes $10MM guaranteed at signing. Brown may well begin next season on the reserve/PUP list.

Blankenship, 25, was set to make $985K in base salary this season. While the Eagles’ 2022 draftees are not extension-eligible, Blankenship is due to his UDFA status. Considering this move merely shifts his RFA year — one that would have required a tender for retention — into a contract campaign, it would surprise if this was a substantial raise. But it will prevent Philly from needing to consider a second-round RFA tender in 2025. That number ballooned to $4.89MM this year, making it likely it would cost more than $5MM to use in ’25.

Injury Notes: Clark, Dulcich, Eagles

September 14th, 2023 at 7:15pm CST by Ben Levine

Frank Clark will be sidelined for a few weeks. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Broncos defensive end will miss “a couple weeks” after suffering a hip injury during yesterday’s practice.

Fortunately, it doesn’t sound like this is a long-term issue, and there’s been no indication that Clark will land on injured reserve. Per Rapoport, the veteran is considered week-to-week.

The former Pro Bowler was cut by the Broncos back in March before eventually landing in Denver. As Troy Renck of Denver7 notes, Clark has struggled to establish a role in Denver, with the 30-year-old serving as a situational pass rusher during the season opener. Clark finished that contest with a pair of tackles while appearing in 25 defensive snaps.

This comes with Baron Browning sitting on PUP, so Clark’s role could be made even more uncertain when his teammate returns. A few weeks off the field probably won’t help his case for a significant role in Denver.

2022 ended Clark’s three-year stretch of earning Pro Bowl nods, but he was still productive with the Chiefs. In 15 games, the pass rusher compiled 39 tackles and five sacks. He showed up during Kansas City’s run to a Super Bowl championship, collecting another seven tackles and 2.5 sacks in three games.

More injury notes from around the NFL…

  • Greg Dulcich is once again dealing with a hamstring injury. After missing seven games for the Broncos during the 2022 season, the tight end will once again miss multiple weeks while dealing with a hamstring injury in the same leg, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The organization intends to take it slow with Dulcich, meaning it could be a bit before he returns to the field. The 2022 third-round pick finished his rookie campaign with 33 catches for 411 yards and two touchdowns.
  • A trio of Eagles players were ruled out early for Thursday Night Football. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported yesterday that running back Kenneth Gainwell (ribs), cornerback James Bradberry (concussion), and safety Reed Blankenship (ribs) would all be sidelined for Philly’s Week 2 matchup against the Vikings. The Eagles did get some good news, however, with defensive tackle Fletcher Cox being declared active for tonight’s game after being listed as questionable with a rib injury.
  • Rams wideout Puka Nacua didn’t practice today thanks to an oblique injury, according to Schefter. The rookie fifth-round pick was a standout during his NFL debut, garnering 15 targets from Matthew Stafford. Nacua ultimately finished the contest with 10 catches for 119 yards. With Cooper Kupp sidelined, the Rams may need to dig into their wide receiver depth against the 49ers.
  • Patriots cornerback Jack Jones landed on injured reserve before the season opener, keeping him off the field for at least the first month of the season. Per Albert Breer of TheMMQB, the 2022 fourth-round pick has an injury split in his contract, meaning the organization can lower Jones’ base salary from $870K to $475K as long as he sits on IR. That ends up being a loss of $22K per week for Jones.

NFC East Notes: Eagles, Pinnock, Cowboys

August 9th, 2023 at 11:58am CST by Sam Robinson

The Eagles both signed five-year starter Terrell Edmunds and used a third-round pick on Sydney Brown. Both safeties factor into the team’s plans, but they are not outflanking Reed Blankenship thus far through training camp. Blankenship has been a first-team mainstay, per the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane, who adds Edmunds and Brown have rotated at the other safety spot. Indeed, The Athletic’s Zach Berman notes Blankenship — a 2022 UDFA out of Middle Tennessee State — has been the Eagles’ top safety in camp (subscription required).

This reminds of Marcus Epps‘ rise last year. Despite the Eagles re-signing Anthony Harris and adding Jaquiski Tartt in 2022, Epps earned a starting job — one that eventually led to a two-year, $12MM Raiders payday. The Eagles brought in C.J. Gardner-Johnson via trade just before last season. That transaction could signal none of Philly’s safeties should be too comfortable, but Blankenship — Gardner-Johnson’s injury sub last year who played 291 defensive snaps — looks like the best bet to start among the in-house group.

Here is the latest from the NFC East:

  • Staying on the subject of safeties in this division, the Giants may be moving toward giving Jason Pinnock the starting job alongside Xavier McKinney. A Jets fifth-round pick in 2021, Pinnock started five games for the Giants last year, operating as McKinney’s injury fill-in. He has received consistent first-team work in camp, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan notes. Pinnock has distanced himself from Dane Belton and veteran Bobby McCain, having been Big Blue’s first-teamer since the fourth training camp practice. The Giants, who lost Julian Love in free agency, claimed Pinnock shortly after the Jets waived the converted cornerback on cutdown day last year. Two seasons remain on Pinnock’s rookie contract.
  • Malik Hooker‘s 2023 Cowboys cap hit climbed from $4.32MM to $4.57MM as a result of his recent extension, Todd Archer of ESPN.com tweets. The incentives in the three-year, $21MM contract include $500K bumps involving playing time and INT production. Five picks and the Cowboys making the playoffs would result in a $500K increase, Archer adds, noting the other incentive requires Hooker to play 85% of Dallas’ defensive snaps and the team to make the postseason (Twitter link).
  • The Cowboys, who turned Micah Parsons from an off-ball linebacker to a fearsome edge rusher, are giving Leighton Vander Esch some reps on the edge, Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News notes. While the sixth-year linebacker received sparse edge work in games last season, Gehlken adds this is the first time he has received extensive instruction in a defensive end role. Rostering Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, Dorance Armstrong, Dante Fowler and Sam Williams, the Cowboys are much deeper on the edge than at linebacker. It would stand to reason LVE’s role will likely remain mostly as an off-ball defender.
  • The Giants recently added longtime safety Mike Adams to their coaching staff, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan tweets. A 16-year veteran, Adams will replace Anthony Blevins as the Giants’ assistant defensive backs coach, the New York Daily News’ Pat Leonard adds (on Twitter). Adams, 42, hung up his cleats after the 2019 season. Blevins left the Giants during the summer to accept an XFL HC position.
  • While Devon Allen did not see any game action for the Eagles last season, Berman writes the two-time Olympian hurdler is in play to make the team as a backup this year. Allen, 28, has not played in a game since working as an Oregon slot receiver in 2016. Shifting to track full-time proved beneficial for Allen, who is one of the best 110-meter hurdlers in U.S. history. But he opted to give football another try last year. He suffered an injury at the U.S. Championships last month, exiting the 110 hurdles competition before the finals in order to preserve his body for his second Eagles camp. The Eagles activated Allen from the PUP list Tuesday.
  • Given a reserve/futures deal along with Allen in February, Matt Leo landed on the Eagles’ reserve/retired list last month. The team hired the former practice squad defensive end a defensive and football operations assistant.

NFC East Notes: Eagles, Davis, Giants

May 26th, 2023 at 10:56am CST by Sam Robinson

Once again positioned as a Super Bowl frontrunner, the Eagles did lose both their starting safeties (Marcus Epps, C.J. Gardner-Johnson) and three-down linebackers (T.J. Edwards, Kyzir White) in free agency. The team has retooled at those spots, placing outside additions (Terrell Edmunds, Nicholas Morrow, third-rounder Sydney Brown) and holdovers (Reed Blankenship, Nakobe Dean) in the starter picture. Dean, a former Georgia standout who unexpectedly dropped into the 2022 third round, will be expected to start, Tim McManus of ESPN.com notes, adding Edmunds and Blankenship are the early expected starters at safety. But more help will probably be on the way. The spring additions aside, McManus expects the defending NFC champions to add both at safety and linebacker before the season. The Howie Roseman-era Eagles have a history of late-offseason supplementation on defense, having acquired Gardner-Johnson barely a week before last season and having traded for Ronald Darby in August 2017.

Here is the latest from the NFC East:

  • The Cardinals’ tampering violation involving Jonathan Gannon may have impacted Vic Fangio‘s decision-making this offseason. Fangio likely would have become the Eagles’ defensive coordinator had the Cardinals and Gannon been upfront about the process that led to the two-year Eagles DC leaving for Arizona, Adam Schefter of ESPN said during a recent appearance on 97.5 The Fanatic’s John Kincade Show. Cards GM Monti Ossenfort confessed to inappropriate contact with Gannon after the NFC championship game. The Cardinals officially requested a Gannon HC interview on Super Bowl Sunday, but discussions occurred before that point. The Eagles had previously eyed Fangio, who had served as a consultant for the team last season, as a Gannon replacement. Ex-Fangio lieutenant Sean Desai is now running Philly’s defense, and the team would have needed to pay up to keep Fangio, who is earning upwards of $4MM per year with the Dolphins.
  • Lane Johnson played in all three Eagles playoff games, coming back in limited form after suffering a late-season adductor injury that required offseason surgery. With that operation successful, Johnson alerted fans this week (via Twitter) he is good to go. This injury was not expected to threaten Johnson’s training camp availability, and the Eagles are on track to have their right tackle back — and on a new deal — well in time for the season.
  • Commanders linebacker Jamin Davis will miss offseason time after undergoing a cleanup procedure on his knee, Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post tweets. This procedure occurred earlier this year and should be considered unlikely to threaten the third-year defender’s chances of starting the season on time. A 2021 first-round pick, Davis worked as a full-time starter in Washington last season, making 104 tackles (nine for loss) and tallying three sacks.
  • The Giants are making some changes to their scouting department. D.J. Boisture, a second-generation Giants staffer who had been with the team for a decade, is no longer in place as its West Coast area scout, Neil Stratton of InsidetheLeague.com tweets. Pro scout Steven Price is also out, per the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz, who notes this may be a case of neither’s contract being renewed. Price spent the past three years with the Giants. GM Joe Schoen did not make many changes to Big Blue’s scouting staff last year, but the post-draft period often sees shuffling in these departments. The Giants are also promoting Marcus Cooper — an ex-Bills exec — to a national scout role. Cooper has been with the Giants for five years. Blaise Bell, who has been in the organization since 2019, will also rise to an area scout role.
  • Oshane Ximines‘ deal to stay with the Giants will be worth the league minimum. The fifth-year outside linebacker will be tied to a one-year, $1.1MM deal, per The Athletic’s Dan Duggan, who notes the Giants are guaranteeing the former third-round pick $200K (Twitter link).

Eagles To Sign S Anthony Harris

December 13th, 2022 at 9:41am CST by Adam La Rose

Shorthanded on the backend of their secondary, the Eagles are bringing back a familiar face. Philadelphia is set to sign veteran safety Anthony Harris, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter).

The move comes as little surprise, as Harris visited the Eagles yesterday (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of NFL Network). The 31-year-old played in Philadelphia last season on a one-year deal, which marked his first campaign played outside of Minnesota. His time with the Vikings (which included a league-leading six interceptions in 2019), led to significant expectations.

Harris was a full-time starter in Philadelphia in 2021, and he recorded 72 tackles, one interception and three pass breakups. The acquisition of C.J. Gardner-Johnson from the Saints pointed to Harris being let go, however. The former UDFA was released at the end of August.

That led him to Denver midway through the season, but Harris only saw special teams action. He was unsurprisingly waived by the Broncos, and has remained a free agent since. The Eagles could once again offer him significant playing time on defense, with multiple injuries at safety leaving them thin at the position. Gardner-Johnson is currently sidelined with a lacerated kidney, and Reed Blankenship exited Sunday’s win over the Giants. Garafolo tweets that the latter will not be placed on IR, meaning he is facing a short-term absence.

Still, Harris will be a familiar face for the Eagles as they weigh their replacement options. Marcus Epps is likely to remain a starter, but Harris could compete for playing time with the likes of K’Von Wallace, Andre Chachere and Josiah Scott for snaps alongside him. His first action back with Philadelphia could come as soon as Week 15 against the Bears as the NFC leaders look to move closer to a division title and a first-round bye.

Eagles Add 11 UDFAs

May 6th, 2022 at 3:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

After their best-known 2022 undrafted free agent became known over the weekend (Nevada quarterback Carson Strong), the Eagles announced the rest of their UDFA class. Here is that 11-man contingent:

The Oklahoma backfield continues to produce NFL talent, with Brooks having teamed with the likes of Rhamondre Stevenson and Trey Sermon during his days in Norman. Brooks is one of the rare Sooners to rip off three 1,000-yard rushing seasons during his time at the Big 12 program, notching the first of those slates as a true freshman in a Kyler Murray-led offense. Rather than turning pro after his 2020 COVID-19-related opt-out, Brooks returned to school for his senior season and amassed a career-high 1,253 rushing yards.

Brooks has a path to a potential role with the Eagles, who did not draft a running back and who have starter Miles Sanders entering a contract year. Behind Sanders, the team returns Boston Scott and 2021 fifth-rounder Kenneth Gainwell.

A guard at San Diego State, Dunkle did not allow a sack in 30 games at the Mountain West school. Sills started at four positions up front for Oklahoma State, while Williams will enter the NFL after spending six seasons in college (five at Houston, one as Miami’s starting right tackle). Covey tops that, having been in college since 2015. The 5-foot-8 wideout notched three return touchdowns for the Utes last year. Philly’s class also houses the 2021 Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year (Fayad) and the son of longtime Lions defensive tackle Luther Elliss. Sporting a 346-pound frame, Noah Elliss was a three-year starter at Idaho.

The Eagles gave Elliss $250K guaranteed, while Goodrich — a first-team All-ACC cornerback and reigning Cheez-It Bowl MVP — received a $217K guarantee (per Pro Football Focus’ Doug Kyed, on Twitter). Blackwell will see a $137.5K guarantee, ProFootballNetwork.com’s Aaron Wilson tweets, while Kyed adds (via Twitter) Sills will collect $135K guaranteed. The Eagles are guaranteeing Dunkle $110K, Kyed tweets.