At their core, the Philadelphia Eagles know who they are.
Sure, they’ve attempted some different things over the years, from trading a first-round pick for a star wide receiver to finally drafting a cornerback and linebacker in subsequent first rounds, but at their heart, Philadelphia is a team that wins in the trenches, with big investments on the offensive and defensive lines to go with a winning quarterback under center and the big-time wide receivers on the outside.
Fortunately for the Eagles, they have many of those players already in place, with Jalen Hurts, AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, Lane Johnson, and Jordan Mailata all locked up on long-term deals, with young defenders like Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith ready to follow suit in the not-too-distant future.
But what about the players who don’t fall into those categories but still have proven themselves important parts of the Eagles’ 2025 Super Bowl win? Some, like Saquon Barkley and Zach Baun, have been handed lofty extensions, bucking the team’s usual positional value trend in favor of rewarding hard work and talent. But others, like Darius Slay, CJ Gardner-Johnson, and Mekhi Becton, were effectively handed their walking papers before they even got their Super Bowl rings, even if they all played huge parts in Philadelphia’s win.
In 2025, the Eagles have a number of players who will be looking for new contracts in the next 12 months, including starters at multiple positions. After being inconsistent for the first two years of his career, Jordan Davis has really come into his own during the back half of the 2024 NFL season, where he showed he could do some pass rushing in addition to his elite run-stuffing under defensive line coach Clint Hurtt. Cam Jurgens, too, will be looking for a new deal after fully taking over for Jason Kelce at the center spot, likely landing a long-term deal due to his impressive play.
But what about a player like Reed Blankenship, who has been just as important to the Eagles as Jurgens or Davis but plays a much less valuable position at the back of the defense? After failing to reach an extension with the front office before training camp, could “Ed Reed” Blankenship be playing for his very future in midnight green this fall? Unless things take a major turn in the next month, that very well may be the case.
Reed Blankenship has the most to prove for the Eagles
Of all the players on the Eagles’ roster, Reed Blankenship has maybe the least likely path to the NFL.
A three-star recruit out of Lester, Alabama, Blankenship wasn’t the most heavily recruited player in the country back in 2016, choosing Middle Tennessee over the likes of Minnesota, Tulane, and Troy. Though he was a steady performer for the Blue Raiders, playing five seasons of quality football, including two with over 100 tackles, Blankenship ultimately went undrafted in 2022, signing with the Eagles as a mid-priority addition with just a $5,000 signing bonus.
As a rookie, Blankenship showed his worth right out of the gate, transitioning from a special teamer to a starter down the stretch. From there, Blankenship continues to play a key role for Philadelphia’s defense, starting all 34 games he’s appeared in while becoming an impressive ballhawk with eight picks and 19 passes defensed to his name.
Rapidly becoming a leader at the back of the defense, first for Jonathan Gannon, then under Sean Desai, and finally under Vic Fangio, Blankenship has proven he can make plays, line up in multiple different spots, and get his teammates in the right spot, with Darius Slay affording him the ultimate complement before his exit: Blankenship is the new leader of Philadelphia’s secondary.
And yet, despite being the ultimate rags-to-riches story, despite having great production and enough athletic gifts to be a fit in Fangio’s scheme, Howie Roseman hasn’t offered him a new deal worth more than his current one-year, $1.85 million extension he signed off of his rookie deal.
Should the Eagles go all-in on Blankenship, giving him the long-term extension they signed Gardner-Johnson to last summer? No, probably not, as all that would guarantee is that he would be on the trade block when his contract’s value balloons up, but as Philly saw last year, if they wait a little too long to extend a player before they blow up, they can get awfully expensive, as Baun showed firsthand. If Philly was wise and knew Blankenship was a key part of their defense moving forward, they would have likely already given him a new deal, but because they haven’t – or at least haven’t yet – he has the chance to make them pay a few million more with a massive breakout season this fall.
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