Eagles trade Sydney Brown to the Falcons, agree to terms with safeties Marcus Epps and J.T. Gray
The Eagles dealt Brown to the Falcons in a package that yielded better third-day picks. Epps will return to the Eagles on a one-year deal.
The Eagles made a flurry of moves at the safety position on Friday, trading Sydney Brown to the Atlanta Falcons and agreeing to terms with Marcus Epps and J.T. Gray on one-year deals, a league source confirmed to The Inquirer.
In the Falcons’ trade for Brown, the teams are swapping 2026 fourth- and sixth-round picks, with the Eagles receiving picks Nos. 114 and 197 and the Falcons getting Nos. 122, 215, and Brown.
Brown, who turns 26 on Saturday, had primarily served indepth safety and special teams roles with the Eagles since he was selected in the third round of the 2023 draft out of Illinois. He never emerged as a fit in Vic Fangio’s defense, and now he has a chance to start anew with the Falcons.
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In 2023, Brown had an encouraging rookie season, starting six games (appearing in 14 total) and registering three pass breakups, a forced fumble, and a pick six. But in the regular season finale that year against the New York Giants, Brown tore his ACL, which sidelined him until Week 7 of the following season. Since then, he started just three games at safety.
By trading Brown, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract, the Eagles are set to create approximately $1.5 million in cap savings in 2026, according to Over The Cap.
Epps, 30, returns for another season in his second stint with the team and figures to contend in training camp for the starting role vacated by Reed Blankenship, who signed with the Houston Texans this offseason. The veteran safety was a member of the Eagles from 2019-22 (serving as a starter in 2022, a season that ended with a trip to the Super Bowl), then came back to Philadelphia last season after two years with the Las Vegas Raiders.
When Drew Mukuba sustained a season-ending fibula injury in Week 12 against the Dallas Cowboys, Epps filled in as the starting safety for four of the final six games of the season. He fared well in limited action, playing a key role in the Eagles’ Week 17 win over the Buffalo Bills on a third quarter goal-line stand.
Gray, 30, was a longtime special-teams fixture on the New Orleans Saints from 2018-24. He signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent out of Mississippi State in 2018. While in New Orleans, he played over 60% of the special-teams snaps every season except for his rookie year, totaling 2,065 by the end of his tenure.
Shortly after the roster cutdown deadline in 2025, the Saints released Gray after seven seasons. He spent the year with three different teams — the Baltimore Ravens (practice squad), the Denver Broncos, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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While Gray has played 103 career games, he has played just 153 defensive snaps and has never started a game on defense.
With Brown and Blankenship departing the team this offseason, the safeties corps now features Mukuba, Epps, Gray, and Andrè Sam, the 2024 undrafted free agent out of LSU. The team also considers defensive back Michael Carter as a safety, as Fangio revealed late last season that he was their fourth-stringer behind Brown.
Carter, whom the Eagles acquired from the New York Jets at the trade deadline last season, could also contend for the starting role. Still, the safety position could use more upgrades as the Eagles head into the draft next month.