There will be a few position battles over the next few months before the 2026 season, but one is more annoying for Philadelphia Eagles fans to deal with.
The departure of Reed Blankenship to the Houston Texans in free agency has opened up one of the starting safety positions for 2026. 2025 second-round pick Andrew Mukuba will be one of the starters, with the other needing to be decided.
Competition at the other safety spot is going to be fierce, with Marcus Epps being the leader of the group, but after him, there are several who could easily win the job. Those who might be a part of it include Michael Carter II, rookie seventh-round pick Cole Wisniewski, J.T. Gray, and Andre' Sam.
Eagles must decide on one of the starting safety jobs
Epps is the leader of the job so far, based on his experience as a veteran. He stepped up for Mukuba when he broke his ankle in Week 12 against the Dallas Cowboys last year and finished the season as the starter, performing well.
Carter is another intriguing name as he has been more of a nickel corner, but Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has mentioned in the past that he sees him as more of a safety. There's a strong chance he might be given the opportunity to compete for the safety job against Epps.
Wisniewski is a long shot for the job despite the Eagles showing enough confidence in him to draft him. Many have compared him to Blankenship, so if he plays like him, the Eagles might already have their future safety on the team.
As for Gray and Sam, they are more like special teams players and most likely won't get playing time on defense. That is an interesting position battle to watch as well, to see which one performs better on special teams coverage.
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The safety position is going to be an eyesore on the roster until they sign or trade for someone, but for now, it's going to create a battle in training camp that Eagles fans are not looking forward to seeing.
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