Eagles stay or go: Safety

Over the last few weeks, we've be taking position-by-position looks at which players will likely be back with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2025, and which ones likely won't. Today we'll continue on with the safeties.

Regarding the polls below, they are your votes on what you think the Eagles should do, not necessarily what you think they will do. Please think of them more as approval polls for each player.

C.J. Gardner-Johnson

The Eagles missed Gardner-Johnson in 2023, after he left the Eagles in free agency to go play in Detroit. That season, the Eagles were depleted at times both at safety and at slot corner. In 2022, Gardner-Johnson played both positions for the Eagles at a high level, and he did so with swagger and confidence, which the Eagles' defense was also missing at times.

After rejoining the team in 2024, CJGJ helped bring some attitude and toughness back to the defense. He has also been a playmaker for the Eagles in his two seasons in Philly. He finished the 2024 regular season with six interceptions in 2024, tied for third-most in the NFL. He also had 6 INTs in his other season with the Eagles in 2022, which tied for the league lead.

#JimmyVerdict: CJCG is under contract through 2026. He's not going anywhere. Stay.

Do you want C.J. Gardner-Johnson back on the Eagles' 2025 roster?

Reed Blankenship

In 2023, Blankenship had an up and down season. Near the midpoint of the season, he led all NFL safeties in pass breakups, and he was a sure tackler, typically taking good angles to the football and preventing good offensive plays from becoming disasters. However, like many of his teammates on both sides of the ball, he struggled down the stretch during the team's collapse.

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In 2024, Blankenship has a good season from start to finish. Like Gardner-Johnson, he was also a playmaker, as he had four INTs, tied for tenth-most in the NFL.

During the week leading up to the Super Bowl, Gardner-Johnson and Blankenship said that they are the best safety duo in the NFL. That might be a little lofty, but it's not a stretch to say they're at least top 5.

#JimmyVerdict: Blankenship has one year left on his contract, which makes him a strong candidate for an early extension, not unlike Cam Jurgens on the other side of the ball. Stay.

Do you want Reed Blankenship back on the Eagles' 2025 roster?

Sydney Brown

Brown tore an ACL in the regular season finale against the Giants in 2023. He missed the entirety of training camp last summer as well as the first four games of the 2024 season.

Brown was a core special teamer as a rookie in 2023 who only played 335 snaps in the regular defense, despite the team suffering quite a few injuries at safety. He was oddly buried on the depth chart early in the season behind Band-Aids like Justin Evans and Terrell Edmunds, playing just 16 snaps the first three weeks of the season before missing the next three games with a hamstring injury. When he got extended action in games later in the season, it was typically out of position at slot corner, where he was filling in for Avonte Maddox and Bradley Roby, after guys like Mario Goodrich and Josiah Scott proved to be ineffective.

In 2024, Brown was once again oddly behind Tristin McCollum on the depth chart for the entirety of the season. He played just 79 snaps in the regular defense, more than half of which came in the Eagles' meaningless regular season finale against the Giants.

Brown is a very good gunner, and just generally an intense special teams player. His most notable moment of the season came against the Cowboys, when he got into a melee with several Cowboys players. Brown was ejected from that game, and left to a loud ovation at the Linc.

Brown has ideal athletic measurables, and he seems to love to play football, but for whatever reason two consecutive defensive staffs have had oddball players higher than him in the safety pecking order.

#JimmyVerdict: Now healthy, Brown will have a chance for an elevated role in the Eagles' defense, though the starting spots are spoken for. Stay.

Do you want Sydney Brown back on the Eagles' 2025 roster?

Tristin McCollum

McCollum made the Eagles' 53-man roster out of training camp, and it is my understanding that he was "the 53rd guy." He was the first safety off the bench in 2024, and played 250 snaps in the regular defense. He finished the season with 33 tackles and 2 pass breakups. After Gardner-Johnson was ejected for saying something mean to Commanders receivers in a Week 16 loss, McCollum entered the game and struggled.

#JimmyVerdict: The Eagles' addition of Lewis Cine late in the season should be viewed by McCollum as a threat to his roster spot. He's under contract in 2025 and will be back in camp, but will have to earn his way onto the roster again.

Do you want Tristin McCollum back on the Eagles' 2025 roster?

Lewis Cine

Cine was a Vikings 2022 first-round pick (32nd overall) who suffered a compound fracture in his leg Week 4 of his rookie season. He missed the rest of the 2022 season, and played sparingly in 2023 before being released by the Vikings following 2024 training camp. Cine spent 2024 on the Bills' practice squad, until the Eagles poached him late in the season.

Cine has appeared in 11 NFL games in three seasons. He has only played 10 career snaps in the regular defense, with 134 special teams snaps. He has 1 career tackle.

Like many other Eagles players on the defensive side of the ball, Cine is a former Georgia Bulldog. He joined Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Nolan Smith, Nakobe Dean, and Kelee Ringo from Georgia's 2021 national championship team.

College highlight reel:

Cine has good length and he had very good athletic traits coming out of college, including a 4.37 40 time.

Cine didn't play for the Eagles during their playoff run, but the Eagles obviously felt his potential was worthy of a spot on the 53-man roster, just to get a closer look at him in practice the rest of the season and next offseason.

#JimmyVerdict: Cine will be back in camp, with no guarantees to make the roster.

Do you want Lewis Cine back on the Eagles' 2025 roster?

James Bradberry

The Eagles selected cornerbacks with each of their first two picks in the 2024 draft, causing Bradberry to request a move to safety. He showed the defensive staff enough during training camp to make the team, however, he revealed during locker room cleanout day that he tore an Achilles shortly after final cuts, ending his season.

Bradberry wasn't often seen by the media during the 2024 season, but he was around, and willingly gave guidance to the Eagles' young cornerbacks behind the scenes. He'll leave Philadelphia with a Super Bowl ring.

Bradberry will be released with a June 1 designation. He'll count for $10,813,000 in dead money, which will be spread out over two years ($3,095,000 in 2025, $7,718,000 in 2026). His cap number in 2025 was scheduled to be $5,195,000, and the Eagles have to carry that number into June, but they'll get roughly $2 million in relief on June 1 when his 2025 cap number goes from $5,195,000 to $3,095,000.

#JimmyVerdict: There's still a chance that Darius Slay could re-sign with the Eagles on a cheaper deal after the team released him. There is no such hope the Bradberry will be back. Go.

Do you want James Bradberry back on the Eagles' 2025 roster?

#JimmyVerdict Stay or Go Results

Green = Stay

Red = Go

Blue = Will be back in camp in 2025, but a 53-man roster spot is not a given.

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