Following last week’s loss on Black Friday to the Chicago Bears, the Philadelphia Eagles are already contemplating moving third-year safety Sydney Brown out of the starting lineup. Brown jumped into the starting safety role with rookie Andrew Mukuba sidelined by a fracture in his leg, and didn’t play well, leaving his immediate role up in the air.
Eagles fans already had their hesitations about Brown getting extended snaps, and his play, or lack thereof, confirmed their fears. He whiffed badly on a tackle in wide-open space in the first half of Week 13 and didn’t look great in pass coverage, giving Philadelphia a reason to change things up before it's too late.
On Wednesday, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio told reporters that Brown was “up and down” like most of the defense, per Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Fangio also said that Marcus Epps is in contention to start at safety against the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night.
Eagles Just Put Sydney Brown Demotion on the Table in Week 14
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as the team just opened up Epps’ 21-day practice window on Tuesday after he was placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury following the Eagles’ Week 8 game against the New York Giants.
With the 21-day window, the Eagles have until Dec. 23 to get Epps back on the field. However, it seems as if Fangio doesn’t want to waste any time, especially if Epps can give them better play than Brown for this week and the rest of the season.
Before getting placed on injured reserve, Epps played mostly on special teams (115 snaps), with some defensive snaps sprinkled in (15 snaps). However, the 29-year-old safety was reportedly ahead of Brown on the depth chart.
Epps has starting experience under his belt, which includes his first stint with the Eagles, where he started in all 17 games during the 2022 season. Before that year, the veteran defensive back had started in a total of eight out of 37 games from 2019 to 2021.
Epps wasn’t the best in pass coverage during the 2022 season, as he had a 141.2 passer rating and allowed five touchdowns. The veteran safety’s Pro Football Focus grade backed that up, posting an ugly 44.7 mark.
However, Epps made up for his coverage deficiencies by playing well and showing up against the run, recording an 84.4 grade. If you’re the Eagles, you hope Epps can find that again, as they need it after getting mauled by the Bears’ ground attack.
It won’t get easier on Monday night as the Chargers might have rookie Omarion Hampton back, to pair alongside Kimani Vidal, who is averaging 4.5 yards per carry. Last week, Brown had a 52.7 run defense grade after only recording two stops on 43 run defense downs against the Bears, which will not cut against the Chargers and run-loving head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Therefore, we’ll see if Epps can get up to speed and get back on the field for Monday night. If he plays well, then the Eagles won’t have to press the panic button. But if he also struggles, then it's hard to imagine what happens next because Philly is running out of options.