Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman was not screwing around after his big trade of safety Sydney Brown, as he already found his potential replacements.
The Eagles traded Brown to the Atlanta Falcons as the two teams swapped fourth and sixth-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. Less than an hour after that, NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported the Eagles re-signed safety Marcus Epps and signed safety J.T. Gray to one-year deals.
Epps played a huge role in the Eagles' defense last year as he started the last month plus of the year after 2025 second-round pick Andrew Mukuba broke his ankle against the Dallas Cowboys, finishing the season with 21 tackles and one tackle for loss. Gray played five games last season with the Denver Broncos and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, making three tackles.
Eagles add two safeties after trading Sydney Brown away
Brown was not long on the Eagles after losing the starting safety job to Mukuba. Even when he had a chance to win the job again after his injury, the Eagles elected to stick with Epps, and that ended up being the right move as Brown is more of a special teams ace than a starting defender.
Epps' coming back is huge for the depth of the roster, as he could very much be the starter on the team in 2026. He will most likely have to compete with Michael Carter II, who is expected to officially move to safety and play there for the upcoming season.
Gray is more about depth at safety than is needed. His spot on the roster in 2026 is not safe, though, as the Eagles could use the 2026 NFL Draft to still add a safety. He will also have to compete with Andre' Sam for a spot on the roster as well.
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The Eagles quickly got some reinforcement and it should definitely help alleviate the loss of Brown.