The cat is out of the bag for the position battles with the Philadelphia Eagles. Well, at least two of them have been decided.
The Philadelphia Inquirer Eagles reporter Jeff McLane has shared on X that the Eagles are going to start Sydney Brown over rookie Andrew Mukuba at safety. McLane adds that Mukuba will be playing in some packages on defense, so he should get some reps.
Another position battle that has been decided is at CB2, with Adoree' Jackson earning the start there. This one is not as much of a surprise as he had been taking all the first-team reps since the preseason finale against the New York Jets.
#Eagles rookie Andrew Mukuba told me he practiced full all week. Sydney Brown will start at safety, but Mukuba will likely play some on defense in certain personnel, from my understanding.
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) September 3, 2025
Adoree' Jackson, to no surprise, will start at outside cornerback.
Reaction to most of the position battles being decided for the Eagles
Again, the Jackson news comes as no surprise, as Kelee Ringo struggled mightily to compete with Jackson for the job early in camp. Many believe Jakorian Bennett could eventually steal the job from Jackson, but since he arrived at camp so late after the trade with the Las Vegas Raiders, it has been a tough uphill battle for him to make it.
Mukuba had an uphill battle to win the safety job after his poorly timed injury in the final week of preseason. If it hadn't been for that, Mukuba might have started over Brown, as Mukuba had a better preseason and training camp than Brown did.
This isn't to say that Brown can't be exceptional during the season, as he had some nice moments in preseason. Most of what made it good was his physicality, as well as some of the big hits he laid on receivers in the secondary.
There is one position that hasn't been announced yet, with the inside linebacker battle between Jihaad Campbell and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. still unknown. It feels as though Campbell might have the advantage after a stellar camp, but he and Trotter will be splitting reps on Thursday.
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Eagles fans will have to wait a little longer for that news, but most of the defense has been figured out entering the Dallas Cowboys game on Thursday.