Philadelphia Eagles: 3 veteran safeties worth camp consideration

The Philadelphia Eagles have more slot cornerbacks than they have safeties. Do you think I’m kidding? Do you think this is a joke? Well, buckle up, friend; the reality might shock you.

As things presently stand, the Eagles have six safeties on their 90-man roster: Marcus Epps, Anthony Harris, K’Von Wallace, Andre Chachere, Jared Mayden, and Reed Blankenship. Of that sextet, the first four are borderline locks to make the initial 53-man roster, with Epps and Harris expected to start at the free and strong safety spots, respectively.

And at slot cornerback? Well, after the addition of Jimmy Moreland, the Eagles now have seven cornerbacks who could see snaps in the slot, eight if you count Zech McPhearson, including Josiah Scott, Kerry Vincent Jr., Craig James, Josh Blackwood, Mac McCain, and 2022 starter Avonte Maddox. Now granted, even if the Birds keep six cornerbacks, which feels all but guaranteed, many of those cornerbacks will find themselves as cap casualties, but still, this disparity is hard to ignore.

The Philadelphia Eagles have a low-key lack of safeties.

This disparity has led more than a few outside observers to suggest that Maddox could move back to free safety, a position he played early on in his rookie contract but hasn’t in quite some time. While that idea could theoretically make some sense if it’s in base package only, as finding ways to keep Maddox on the field as often as possible is probably a good idea, taking one of the best slot cornerbacks in the NFL even further off the ball full time feels sort of like a bad idea if you ask me.

But what else can the Philadelphia Eagles do? Hope that a player like K’Von Wallace can magically put it all together? Make a win-now trade for Jessie Bates III? Well, before the team does something drastic, why not simply sign one of the veteran safeties still available on the free agent market to add a little competition to the back of Jonathan Gannon’s defense?