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Marcus Epps

Eagles Reuniting With S Marcus Epps

August 27th, 2025 at 10:19pm CST by Ely Allen

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.

Patriots Set 53-Man Roster

August 26th, 2025 at 6:07pm CST by Ben Levine

Mike Vrabel‘s first roster as Patriots head coach is taking shape. The team announced the following moves as they set their initial 53-man roster:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR (designated for return):

Placed on IR:

In addition to cutting Strange, the organization also moved on from Demontrey Jacobs, who started 13 games for the Patriots last season. Elsewhere on the OL, it sounds like David Olajiga will land back on New England’s practice squad if he clears waivers, per Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald.

Perhaps the most surprising moves were the cuts the Patriots didn’t make. Kyle Dugger will stick around despite days of trade speculation. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Patriots did receive multiple trade offers for the safety, but his $9.75MM salary (and how much the Patriots would be forced to take on) was a hurdle during negotiations. Meanwhile, the Patriots are temporarily holding on to eight wide receivers, with players like Kendrick Bourne and Javon Baker making the squad.

Patriots To Release S Marcus Epps

August 26th, 2025 at 9:56am CST by Sam Robinson

The safety position in New England has brought some changes, to the point Kyle Dugger could be on the move barely a year after his big-ticket extension. Another veteran piece will not stick under a new coaching staff.

New England is releasing Marcus Epps, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports. Epps did not catch on during Mike Vrabel‘s first offseason in charge. The former Eagles and Raiders starter, who signed with the team this offseason, will head straight to free agency as a vested veteran. Epps requested the release, per the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed.

The Pats gave Epps a one-year, $2.03MM deal; they will eat the $500K guarantee as dead money. Epps is coming off an injury-marred 2024, having suffered an ACL tear in Week 3 of last season. Epps did not require a stay on the Pats’ active/PUP list, however, and Pelissero adds the veteran wanted a fresh start. It should be expected he will land elsewhere soon, though the former Super Bowl LVII starter has lost momentum since signing a two-year, $12MM Raiders deal in 2023.

Dugger’s move to the trade block comes as the Patriots are prepared to use Jabrill Peppers and Jaylinn Hawkins as starters at safety. While it represents an about-face for the team on Dugger, Epps only spent a few months in Foxborough. The 29-year-old veteran will look to land with a fifth NFL team.

The Vikings chose Epps in the 2019 sixth round, but he did not finish that season in Minnesota. The Eagles developed Epps into a starting safety but disbanded their Super Bowl LVII tandem (Epps, C.J. Gardner-Johnson) in 2023, seeing Gardner-Johnson join the Lions days after Epps signed with the Raiders. Epps started 17 Las Vegas games in 2023 before going down three games into his follow-up season.

AFC Contract Details: Becton, Bolts, Texans, Jenkins, Browns, Bills, Patriots, Dolphins

March 29th, 2025 at 12:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the latest details from contracts agreed to around the AFC:

  • Mekhi Becton, OL (Chargers). Two years, $20MM. Despite raising his value with the Eagles, Becton only fetched $6.94MM guaranteed at signing, Cards Wire’s Howard Balzer tweets. The deal includes $3.06MM of per-game roster bonuses in 2025 and $2.55MM in ’26, with these protecting the Bolts after Becton missed 33 games from 2021-22. Becton is due a $2.5MM roster bonus on Day 3 of the 2026 league year, per OverTheCap.
  • Christian Elliss, LB (Patriots). Two years, $13.51MM. The Pats are guaranteeing Elliss $7.75MM at signing, the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin tweets. This Raiders offer sheet includes guarantees into Year 2, with Volin adding $2.25MM of Elliss’ $7.38MM 2026 base salary is guaranteed at signing. Although Las Vegas designed this deal to give New England pause about matching, the team did so and has since released Ja’Whaun Bentley.
  • Cam Robinson, T (Texans). One year, $12MM. The Texans are guaranteeing Robinson $10.75MM, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes. Up to $1.25MM is available via per-game roster bonuses. Houston also included four void years, which would create a $7MM 2026 dead money bill if Robinson is not re-signed before the 2026 league year.
  • Garrett Bradbury, C (Patriots). Two years, $9.5MM. Bradbury will see $3.8MM guaranteed at signing; $2.4MM of that comes via a signing bonus, ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss tweets. Bradbury’s $3.7MM 2026 base salary is nonguaranteed, giving the Pats an out if the fit proves poor this year.
  • Mario Edwards, DL (Texans). Two years, $9.5MM. The team is guaranteeing the nomadic D-lineman, $4.5MM, Wilson tweets. Edwards’ $4MM 2026 base salary is nonguaranteed.
  • Reid Ferguson, LS (Bills). Four years, $6.5MM. Ferguson’s latest Bills contract sits second (to the Chiefs’ James Winchester) at the NFL’s lowest-paid position. The deal includes $2.37MM guaranteed at signing, which Wilson notes is comprised of a 2025 salary guarantee and a $1.1MM signing bonus.
  • Zach Wilson, QB (Dolphins). One year, $6MM. The ex-Jets starter still secured a fully guaranteed deal as he attempts to reset after spending the 2024 season as the Broncos’ third-stringer. The Dolphins guaranteed Wilson $6MM, per the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson. Wilson only counts $2.2MM on Miami’s 2025 cap, per Jackson, as the team added four void years to keep that number low.
  • Sheldon Rankins, DT (Texans). One year, $5.25MM. Coming after Rankins underwhelmed on a two-year, $24.5MM Bengals accord, the former first-round pick will see $4.5MM guaranteed, per Wilson. Playing-time incentives worth a total of $1.75MM are also included in Rankins’ second Texans contract.
  • Teven Jenkins, G (Browns). One year, $3.1MM. The guard market dried up for Jenkins, whose free agency reminds of Dalton Risner‘s recent forays. The three-year Bears starter, who held a high asking price early on the market, settled for a deal including just $2.67MM guaranteed, Wilson adds. Cleveland included up to $340K in per-game roster bonuses.
  • Ifeatu Melifonwu, S (Dolphins). One year, $3MM. The Dolphins are guaranteeing the ex-Lions defender $2.45MM, Wilson tweets. Another $1MM in incentives is present.
  • Marcus Epps, S (Patriots). One year, $2.03MM. One of two 2024 Raiders starting defenders heading to New England (along with Robert Spillane), Epps received only $500K guaranteed, Reiss tweets. That includes $350K of Epps’ $1.17MM base salary, which does not make the former Super Bowl LVII starter a roster lock.

Patriots To Sign S Marcus Epps

March 14th, 2025 at 2:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Raiders are moving on from both their Week 1 safety starters from 2024. Marcus Epps is heading to the Patriots, doing so after suffering an ACL tear early in his second Las Vegas season.

New England is giving Epps a one-year deal worth up to $4.4MM, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. While this is considerably less than Epps’ two-year, $12MM Raiders pact from 2023, Epps’ knee injury explains that gap.

Earning a starting job out of training camp in 2022 with the Eagles, Epps started the entire season alongside C.J. Gardner-Johnson. The Raiders took interest and handed out that $6MM-per-year deal. The Raiders snapped a 19-year drought of finishing in the bottom half of the NFL in scoring defense that year, and Epps started all 17 games for the Silver and Black. He went down in Week 3 of last season, however, hurting his value ahead of a second trip to free agency.

Epps is expected to be ready for training camp where he will compete for playing time in the Patriots’ crowded safety room. Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers opened the 2024 season atop the depth chart, but injuries limited them to 19 combined games. Backups Jaylinn Hawkins and Marte Mapu combined for another 16 starts, and Dell Pettus and Brenden Schooler each appeared in all 17 regular-season games.

Epps has only played 11 snaps on special teams over the last two years, but he may have to revive that part of his game if he can’t earn a starting role on defense.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/24/24

September 24th, 2024 at 7:19pm CST by Adam La Rose

Tuesday’s minor moves around the NFL:

Chicago Bears

 Detroit Lions

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Patrick was among the Broncos’ final roster cuts but he quickly landed a deal with the Lions on their practice squad. Healthy after back-to-back years featuring major injuries, the 30-year-old has twice been a gameday elevation so far this year and logged a 44% offensive snap share. He will aim to remain in a depth role while now permanently on the active roster.

Covey will be sidelined for at least the next four weeks given today’s move. His injury is particularly notable given the fact A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are both injured at the moment, thinning out the team’s receiver room. Covey, 27, received seven targets across the past two games and Philadelphia will need to turn to other options for a complementary role at wideout (along with the return game).

Raiders S Marcus Epps Suffers ACL Tear

September 23rd, 2024 at 3:14pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Raiders were dealt a major blow during Sunday’s loss. Safety Marcus Epps suffered an ACL tear, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

Epps was part of the Raiders’ efforts to rebuild in the secondary last offseason. He inked a two-year deal as a free agent worth $12MM. That pact included $8MM in guarantees, and it proved to be a worthwhile investment from the team’s perspective last year. The 28-year served as a full-time starter, collecting 66 tackles and three pass breakups. Similar play was expected of him in 2024, but his attention will turn to recovery.

As Pelissero notes, Epps’ knee is otherwise intact, which is a positive sign regarding his long-term outlook. For the time being, though, the Raiders will be shorthanded at the safety spot. The Wyoming product logged more than 1,000 defensive snaps for the second straight year in 2023, and replacing him will be a tall order for Las Vegas. The team ranks 28th in scoring defense through three games, including poor numbers against the pass (226 yards per game), and those figures could worsen in Epps’ absence.

The former Viking and Eagle did not hold down a full-time starting role in Philadelphia until his final year with the team. Epps did not deliver strong coverage statistics that season, but his leadership and communication made him an attractive option for the Raiders to pair with Tre’von Moehrig. The latter had his best season to date in 2023, but he will close out the current campaign with a new safety partner. The likes of Isaiah Pola-Mao, Amari Burney, Christopher Smith and Trey Taylor are options to take on an increased defensive role.

The news of Epps’ injury comes not long after it was learned starting defensive end Malcolm Koonce is also out for the year. Those absences will leave the Raiders without a pair of impactful defenders moving forward as they look to improve from a 1-2 start. With nearly $28MM in cap space, a move aimed at adding safety depth to help replace Epps would be feasible from a financial standpoint.

For the former sixth-rounder, this injury will no doubt impact his free agent value. Epps will look to rehab in time for the start of the 2025 campaign, but his market will not be as strong as it would have been had he remained healthy and productive for Vegas.

NFL Injury Roundup: Jefferson, Herbert, Hamilton

December 10th, 2023 at 6:04pm CST by Ely Allen

Justin Jefferson‘s return from injured reserve may not last long. In Jefferson’s first game back from the IR-stint caused by a nagging hamstring injury, the Vikings wide receiver was knocked out of the game early with a separate injury.

While cutting across the middle of the field on a deep slant, Jefferson leapt up, arms extended, in an attempt to grab a high pass from quarterback Joshua Dobbs. While Jefferson was fully exposed in the process of the catch, Raiders safety Marcus Epps delivered a big shot to Jefferson’s rib cage from the side.

It didn’t take long for the team to rule Jefferson out for the remainder of the game with a chest injury. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Minnesota decided to transport Jefferson to a local hospital in Las Vegas. While perhaps not indicative of the worst-case scenario, the Vikings are likely just acting out of an abundance of caution.

At 6-6, the Vikings are one of a handful of NFC teams on the boundary of playoff contention, even without Jefferson for the last eight weeks. If Jefferson’s chest injury is not too painful to overcome, he would be a great asset in a playoff push to close the season.

Here are a few other injury updates from around the league:

  • The Chargers are facing an uphill battle in their attempts to remain in playoff contention. Things won’t get any easier as starting quarterback Justin Herbert was ruled out of today’s game with a finger injury, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. With Herbert out, backup quarterback Easton Stick has entered the game for his first game action since the 2020 season. Since starting in place of an injured Tyrod Taylor in Week 2 of his rookie season, Herbert has not missed a single start in his career. If Herbert’s finger keeps him out for more than a few days, with Los Angeles facing a short week, Stick could see his first ever NFL start in Vegas this Thursday.
  • Ravens do-it-all safety Kyle Hamilton was forced to leave today’s overtime win over the Rams with a knee injury. He had sat out a couple of plays after initially tweaking his knee before returning to the field of play earlier in the game. A few drives later, he would not return and was ruled out for the rest of the game. According to Schefter, the plan is for Hamilton to undergo an MRI scan tomorrow in order to determine the extent of the injury. Baltimore is set up well with Marcus Williams and Geno Stone at safety, but Hamilton lines up in so many places on the defense that he would be virtually impossible to replace with a single player if he’s forced to miss any time.

Raiders To Sign S Marcus Epps

March 13th, 2023 at 5:12pm CST by Ben Levine

The Eagles have lost another defender in free agency. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that safety Marcus Epps is expected to sign with the Raiders.

The defensive back will get a two-year, $12MM deal from Las Vegas, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). The contract includes $8MM in guaranteed money.

Epps had a career season for the Eagles in 2022, starting a career-high 17 games. The defensive back finished the campaign with 94 tackles and six passes defended, and he had another 13 stops in three postseason starts. The 27-year-old only finished as Pro Football Focus’ 71st-ranked cornerback among 88 qualifiers, but the site did give him a top-12 score in rush defense.

With Rock Ya-Sin and Anthony Averett hitting free agency, the Raiders have been mentioned as a potential suitor for free agent defensive backs. Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (via Twitter), there was mutual interest between the Raiders and Bills safety Jordan Poyer, but it seems like the organization opted for the cheaper alternative.

The defending NFC champions have already seen a handful of defenders leave today. Besides Epps, the Eagles have also lost defensive tackle Javon Hargrave and linebacker T.J. Edwards to free agency.

Eagles Looking For More Safety Help?

August 22nd, 2022 at 3:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jaquiski Tartt has worked as a starter for most of his career, lining up as a 49ers first-stringer 64 times since being taken in the 2015 second round. The veteran defender, however, has not shown enough to be an Eagles roster lock yet. The other Eagles veteran safety, Anthony Harris, may not be locked in as a starter. The team appears on the lookout for more help.

Marcus Epps looks to be the only Eagles safety who has secured a roster spot, Geoff Mosher of InsidetheBirds.com notes. Epps, 26, stands in front of Harris and Tartt (both 30), but the Eagles should be expected to seek a starter upgrade alongside the fourth-year player. This would be the one starting spot the Eagles try to upgrade between now and Week 1, Zach Berman of The Athletic offers.

Harris and Tartt each signed one-year deals with Philadelphia this offseason, the former doing so to stay with the team. Harris worked as a full-time starter last season for the Eagles, but Mosher adds the team’s lack of speed at this position is viewed as a concern. Pro Football Focus graded Harris just outside the top 50 at safety last season; Tartt slotted outside the top 70.

Once attached to the franchise tag in Minnesota, Harris re-signed with Philadelphia on a lower-cost deal (one year, $2.5MM; $1MM guaranteed) compared to his 2021 contract. Tartt signed a one-year, $1.12MM pact with no guarantees. The longtime San Francisco starter is on the outside looking in right now, Berman adds in a roster prediction that has former UDFAs K’Von Wallace, Josiah Scott and Andre Chachere cracking Philly’s 53-man squad instead of Tartt.

Epps has missed time recently because of a back issue as well. The former Vikings sixth-round pick has also never been a full-time starter, seeing just eight such opportunities in three seasons. The Eagles used Harris and Rodney McLeod as their back-line tandem last season; McLeod is now with the Colts. Epps rising to a starting role has been in the works for a bit now.

The Eagles exited the draft with safety as a position of need, but Tartt joining Harris and Epps quieted that noise. Training camp, however, has reignited the push for an otherwise-strong Philly roster to have more help at the position. The Eagles should be expected to make another move here, per InsidetheBirds.com’s Adam Caplan.

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