Surely the Philadelphia Eagles have a plan at safety. They have to, right?
Otherwise, why would they let 2 starting safeties walk out the door — Reed Blankenship on a big-money free-agent contract with the Houston Texans and Sydney Brown via a trade to the Atlanta Falcons.
As it stands right now, the Eagles would be counting on promising 2nd-year safety Andrew Mukuba to hold things down back there — something that’s a dicey proposition after his season ended with a fractured ankle in 2025.
Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport thinks the smart move for the Eagles would be signing 30-year-old safety Xavier Woods, a versatile player who could fill either safety spot if needed.
Financially, getting Woods on a low-money deal might be an imperative as the franchise anticipates taking a huge dead cap hit if wide receiver A.J. Brown is traded after June 1, which many anticipate will happen.
The Eagles, unfortunately, are going to have find savings somewhere in the starting lineup. That might have to be at strong safety.
“That could leave the Eagles sifting through the bargain bin to fill gaps on the roster, including at safety after Reed Blankenship signed with the Houston Texans,” Davenport wrote. “There isn’t a lot left on the veteran market at safety — a mixture of aging veterans and second-tier options … Xavier Woods kind of splits the middle between the two camps.”
Woods was released by the Tennessee Titans in March to clear $3.82 million in salary cap space as the franchise undergoes a top-to-bottom rebuild under new head coach Robert Saleh.
In 2024 with the Carolina Panthers, Woods had career highs of 119 tackles and 3 interceptions. In 9 seasons, Woods has 121 career starts for the Titans, Panthers, Dallas Cowboys, and Minnesota Vikings, along with approximately $25.3 million in career earnings.
Conference USA Ball Hawk Becomes 6th Round Pick
Woods, 5-foot-11 and 200, was a 3-time All-Conference USA pick at Louisiana Tech, with 14 interceptions, 18 pass deflections, and 2 interceptions returned for touchdowns over his final 3 seasons.
He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.51 seconds at Louisiana Tech’s pro day after running it in 4.54 seconds at the NFL scouting combine, and the Cowboys selected him in the 6th round (No. 191 overall) of the 2017 NFL draft.
“He was by far the highest rated player on our board,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said after drafting Woods. “We decided to pull the trigger on that, and of course it certainly was a position of need if you look at it in terms of the safeties we lost in free agency, it was sure nice to get a guy like Woods.”
As a rookie in 2017, Woods played in all 16 games with 4 starts, 42 tackles, 3 pass deflections, and 1 interception before becoming the full-time starter at strong safety in 2018 — a role he’s held in every season he’s played in and for every team he’s played on since.
Eagles Have NFL’s Best Trio of Cornerbacks
Whoever ends up playing safety for the Eagles will have the benefit of having the NFl’s best trio of cornerbacks playing front of them — and a trio of Super Bowl champions — with NFL All-Pros Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean along with recently-signed free agent Riq Woolen, who just won a title with the Seattle Seahawks.
Versatile $25 Million Free Agent Called ‘Perfect Fit’ for Eagles