It's Time For Eagles To Play Let's Make A Deal With Their Safety Leader

Contracts aren’t something players like to talk about. Especially those hoping for one with the team that gave them their first taste of the NFL. And Eagles general manager Howie Roseman certainly doesn’t discuss them, always saying that it’s a situation best handled between the player and the team.

Three players were asked about their contracts after Tuesday’s OTA – Reed Blankenship, Jordan Davis, and Jalen Carter.

Davis’s fifth-year option was picked up. Carter has another year before the process of re-signing him to a megadeal should commence. Blankenship is the most pressing of the trio.

The safety is entering his fourth season, and it’s the last one he has on the one-year extension he received last year worth $3.93 million.

He’s also busy trying to lead a young group of safeties that, even at the age of 26, makes him the youngest of a group that includes Tristin McCollum, who is two months younger than Blankenship, Sydney Brown (25), Lewis Cine (25), undrafted free agent Maxen Hook (23), and rookie Drew Mukuba (22).

Darius Slay was the leader in the secondary, a captain on the team before leaving for the Steelers in the offseason. He said on a recent podcast that Blankenship had to become the new leader in the secondary, especially with safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson having been traded to the Texans.

“Him saying that is a huge honor,” said Blankenship. “I try my best to teach these guys what I’ve been taught. It’s one of those things that they can take what I teach them or not, but I always let them know that I’m a strong shoulder to lean on with anything. Just to be that guy with an open-door policy type thing.”

Blankenship became a starter in his second season after going undrafted in 2022. That’s how highly the Eagles thought of him. Now, it comes time to see how much they think of him when it comes time to paying him.

While the Eagles mull it, Blankenship isn’t giving it much thought.

“That’s one of those things that’s personal stuff,” he said. “I leave that to the side. I’m more worried about growing as a team, growing as a unit. I have my personal goals but I’m not letting that get in the way of this.”