The Eagles are set for another reunion in the days leading up to the regular season. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, veteran safety Marcus Epps is signing with Philadelphia after two seasons away from the team. 
A former sixth-round pick out of Wyoming in 2019, Epps got his start in Philadelphia when Minnesota, the team that drafted him, waived him partway through his rookie season. The Eagles claimed him off waivers and immediately put him to use. After being primarily a special teamer for the Vikings, playing only 12 total snaps on defense in eight games, Epps became a frequent presence in the Eagles secondary as a rookie, playing as a third safety behind Rodney McLeod and Malcolm Jenkins.
Once Jenkins went back to New Orleans, Epps shared the defensive backfield with McLeod and a roaming Jalen Mills, making five starts and logging two interceptions. The team ran back a similar system in 2021, substituting Anthony Harris for a departed Mills. In 2022, McLeod went the way of Jenkins and Mills, and Epps took a full-time starting role as a deep safety, sharing the area with C.J. Gardner-Johnson and a rookie Reed Blankenship.
Epps’ first season as a full-time starter in a contract year paid off in free agency when he landed a two-year, $14MM deal with the Raiders. In his first season in Las Vegas, Epps formed a formidable safety duo with Tre’von Moehrig. Unfortunately, in the second year of the deal last season, Epps suffered a season-ending ACL tear only three games into the year.
Coming off the injury in free agency, Epps signed a one-year deal with the Patriots to join a crowded safeties room. Ultimately, he was unable to find a role in New England, and the team released him in final roster cuts yesterday. Luckily, he’s rebounded with the team that took a shot on him as a rookie on waivers.
In Philadelphia, the Eagles are once again filling a question mark with an old name, much like they did at swing tackle. The starting spot next to Blankenship has been up in the air as Sydney Brown tries to take back the starting job he lost to Gardner-Johnson last year and rookie second-round pick Andrew Mukuba works to get up to speed after missing time in training camp with a shoulder injury. With Epps coming into the picture, the Eagles still have the ability to see if Brown or Mukuba can handle a starting role, but the veteran will be available as a safety blanket, if needed.
Epps was terrible in coverage for us.