Even if the news was expected, it was still tough for Philadelphia Eagles fans to see safety Reed Blankenship leave the franchise after four years.
Blankenship agreed to a three-year, $24.75 million contract with the Houston Texans to start in their secondary. Before officially departing from Philly, Blankenship took to Instagram to post his goodbye message to fans, which included an image of him with Lane Johnson from their Super Bowl win at the end of the 2024 season.
“To the city that took a chance on an undrafted kid from MTSU-thank you from the bottom of my heart. Elsa and I will always be a part of the bird family and have nothing but love for everyone that has supported us.”
Reed Blankenship says goodbye to the Eagles
In 56 career games, Blankenship finished his Eagles career with 308 tackles, 23 pass deflections, nine interceptions, three tackles for loss, one quarterback hit, and one forced fumble. He went from being an undrafted free agent in 2022 to becoming one of the key starters on defense over the last three seasons.
It's tough to see him leave, as fans have loved and appreciated everything he has done. He was a leader of a very young secondary, and his podcast with Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean, The Exciting Mics, grew in popularity among Philly fans.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman warned the fan base from the beginning of the offseason that there were going to be a lot of changes and not every free agent was going to be brought back. Unfortunately, Blankenship was one of those who won't be back in the midnight green uniforms in 2026.
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The team presses on to find Blankenship's replacement either through free agency or the draft, but Eagles fans won't forget what he did for this franchise over the last four seasons.