Eagles Projected Starter Called 'Expendable'

The Philadelphia Eagles have made multiple big trades this offseason.

Philadelphia sent defensive end Bryce Huff to the San Francisco 49ers this week, but it isn't the only big swap of the offseason so far. The Eagles traded safety CJ Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans in March after racking up six interceptions in his return to Philadelphia in 2024.

Gardner-Johnson was great last year, but the Eagles trimmed some salary by moving him to Houston and have opened up the safety position. Reed Blankenship is going to have a big role once again and there is another spot up for grabs with Gardner-Johnson gone.

2025 second-round pick Andrew Mukuba has a lot of excitement around him. The Eagles also have Sydney Brown, Tristin McCollum, Lewis Cine, and Andre' Sam on the roster. Pro Football Focus recently projected each team's starting lineup and projected Brown to land the starting job opposite of Blankenship.

Brown seems like the easy option to step right into a bigger role. He is entering his third season with the Eagles and played in 11 games last year.

Although this is the case, Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport made a list of one player per team that they believe should be considered as trade candidates. Brown was the guy listed by Davenport for Philadelphia.

"S Sydney Brown," Davenport said. "A third-round pick of the Eagles in 2023, safety Sydney Brown started six games as a rookie before tearing his ACL in the final week of the regular season. Brown played sparingly in 2024, amassing just seven total tackles in 79 snaps. However, that hasn’t stopped some from predicting big things from Brown in Year 3. Pro Football Focus went so far as to list Brown as a potential breakout candidate for the Eagles in 2025.

"There’s just one thing standing between Brown and that breakout, however—rookie safety Andrew Mukuba, who the Eagles took in Round 2 of the 2025 draft...If Mukuba wins the training camp battle, Brown (who was drafted before defensive coordinator Vic Fangio got to Philadelphia) could become expendable. But much like recently traded edge-rusher Bryce Huff, just because the Super Bowl champions don’t have a use for Brown doesn’t mean another team won’t."

The Eagles haven't been afraid to make any trades this offseason. While this is the case, it doesn't make sense to subtract from their safety depth unless they add another piece -- like Justin Simmons in free agency.