Former Philadelphia Eagles safety Reed Blankenship was a fan favorite over the last four years as he went from an undrafted free agent to one of the leaders on the defense.
His grit earned the respect of Philly as he made two Super Bowls and won one with the team, spending the last three as a full-time starter. That's until he left at the start of free agency to sign with the Houston Texans. In his first interview with the press as a member of the Texans, Blankenship made an interesting comment that feels more like a backslap to the Eagles.
“That honestly felt like the first time in my whole NFL career that somebody really wanted me as a player and as a person to come and perform for them,” Blankenship said.
Reed Blankenship with some interesting comments with Texans media
It feels like an odd comment to make, especially since it was the Eagles that called him to sign with the team when he was drafted in 2022. Blankenship seemed to continue with the Texans media with this same mentality.
“I felt like, as an undrafted guy, no team really wants you,” Blankenship said. “You're just put on a team, and then if you make it, you make it. If you don't, you're just another statistic. But, like I said, I really think that Houston wanted me and had this sense of calmness with it. I just feel really different about this place. It's a different sort of edge to my career. I feel like I'm going to have a lot of fun down in Houston.”
A lot of this could just be show as he tries to talk up his new team and show his appreciation to Houston. At the same time, the Eagles gave him his first opportunity when no one else did, and he became a serviceable starter in the NFL because of that.
It may be too much to read into it, but it's still disappointing that those were the words Blankenship chose instead of something else. He may not have the kind of career that he finished with unless it was for what the Eagles did for him.
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Eagles fans are not going to like Blankenship's comments, but he isn't on the team anymore, and the team and the fan base need to move on and let him say whatever he wants in Houston if he chooses to.