Business Of Football Could Impact Eagles' Safety Competition

However, developments outside the NovaCare Complex could impact the decision just as much as the projected action on the field.

There’s a logjam of 30 unsigned second-round picks around the NFL as agents try to get fully guaranteed money as far down the board as possible.

For the first time, the top two picks in the second round – Cleveland linebacker Carson Schwesinger and Houston receiver Jayden Higgins -- joined their first-round counterparts in getting fully guaranteed four-year deals. 

While that’s never going to reach Mukuba at No. 64, his place in the league’s slotting system is the percentage of guaranteed money, and his camp would be doing the Texas product a disservice if it leaped without more information on what picks 60 to 63 will be getting.

There is still a week to get things done, and the history of the Eagles suggests that it will be accomplished before the first practice on July 23.

However, if things continue to move slowly around the rest of the league, Philadelphia may be forced to wait a few days before Mukuba gets to camp.

Long term, that’s not a blip on the radar, but short term, it’s an opportunity for Brown or McCollum to seize a leg up in the competition with Fangio.

Last year, in a much more definitive example of that sentiment, star rookie Cooper DeJean missed an extended 20 days with a hamstring injury at the start of camp and wasn’t part of the defense in a meaningful fashion until Week 6.

Again, it didn’t matter in the long term, but it did cost DeJean some time

The Eagles had an early bye week last season, so 20 days essentially translated to a five-week detour for one of the best rookies in recent memory and, perhaps more importantly, a high football IQ player like DeJean.

Any time missed at all by Mukuba could open the door for Brown and McCollum, Week 1 against Dallas, and the luxury of playing time is obvious. ... If you play well, no one is taking you off the field.