Vic Fangio announces Eagles starter at safety; expect a rotation at edge rusher regardless of Jonathan Greenard’s status

Three days before the Eagles open their season with a home game vs. the Washington Commanders, Vic Fangio officially cleared up what was essentially the only battle for a starting spot in training camp.

Marcus Epps will be the one next to Andrew Mukuba at safety when the Eagles aren’t in their base package. When they are, Cooper DeJean will drop back while Quinyon Mitchell and Riq Woolen man the two corner spots.

It had been tracking that way late in camp, but Epps had to hold off a challenge from Michael Carter II, who was converting to safety from mostly playing nickel during his five-season NFL career.

While Epps, who Fangio said was “solid” in camp, won the job, the defensive coordinator also said the Eagles “still like Michael, and we have the ability to play him some there, too.”

“Michael is very versatile,” Fangio said. “He can play nickel, can play dime, can play safety, and we plan on using him.”

Epps, 30, is in his second stint with the Eagles. The team claimed Epps in November of 2019 after Minnesota waived him just months after selecting him in the sixth round. He eventually became a starter, including during the Super Bowl loss to Kansas City at the end of the 2022 season. Epps signed a two-year, $12 million contract in free agency with Las Vegas after that season, but after playing the entirety of the 2023 season, his 2024 campaign ended with a torn ACL in Week 3.

Epps spent last training camp with New England before being cut. He then signed with the Eagles’ practice squad. He was later forced into a bigger role after Mukuba’s injury.

Now, he’ll play pretty frequently next to Mukuba come Sunday.

“It feels good to just be back healthy, have a clear mind, kind of be out of that dark place that I was in,” Epps said near the end of camp. “I’m just grateful. I don’t take any day for granted, and I’m truly blessed to be here, right where I want to be.”

The Eagles, like most teams, rarely are in their base defense with only four defensive backs on the field. It’s possible Carter and Epps share the field when the Eagles deploy their dime package. Carter was the sixth defensive back on the field with the first-team defense for much of camp.

» READ MORE: Who will back up Jalen Hurts when the season opens on Sunday? The Eagles are keeping it close to the vest.

Fangio did not tip his hand Thursday when it came to the status of Jonathan Greenard, who was back on the practice field again Thursday after missing all of training camp with a pectoral injury.

“It’s day by day,” Fangio said. “He hasn’t practiced a whole lot yet, so we’ll be careful with that.

“There’s a minimal amount of real practice that you have to go through, especially for a guy coming off an injury. It’s like the guy [Aaron] Donald with the Rams. He’s just coming off rustiness, no injury, and he wasn’t ready this week. We’ll see.”

Fangio also said it would be “a while” before Greenard is “ready for a full load. So it will be a pretty good rotation.”

There’s a pretty clear trio at the top of the depth chart in Greenard, Jalyx Hunt, and Nolan Smith Jr. But an extensive rotation could mean Arnold Ebiketie and A.J. Epenesa see some extended run early in the season.

There’s a bit of mystery for Fangio and his defense heading into Week 1. The Eagles are facing a familiar opponent and a familiar dual-threat quarterback in Jayden Daniels, but the Commanders have a new offensive coordinator in David Blough. Blough has been with the team since 2024. Like new Eagles coordinator Sean Mannion, Blough was last a quarterback on an NFL roster in 2023.

“It’s a little different than normal,” Fangio said. “You really don’t know a whole lot about the offense either way, what it might or might not be. You make the assumption, right or wrong, that they’ll still do some of the stuff that Daniels was good at and comfortable with. They’ll do some stuff that the new guy wants to do. So it’s a bit of a crapshoot.”

Daniels was injured and missed both Eagles-Commanders meetings last season.

» READ MORE: Uar Bernard, Joshua Weru react to landing on Eagles’ practice squad: ‘Philly’s home for us’

No, Terrell Owens did not make an appearance at the Jefferson Health Training Complex on Thursday.

Those were the words of special teams coordinator Michael Clay when asked about Tank Bigsby, who the team listed as a kick returner on its unofficial depth chart.

Bigsby, whom the Eagles traded for after one game last season, struggled last season with multiple drops in the return game. Clay took responsibility Thursday for not preparing Bigsby.

“I did a poor job as a coach in instilling the full confidence in terms of ‘bad things happen, how do you respond to it?’” Clay said.

“I love being around Tank. He’s been a ball of energy. He’s going to do whatever he can on offense. He’s going down the field every time trying to get a block. When the ball is in his hands, get your popcorn ready. It’s great to watch him do all that.

“I think Tank is going to have a good season on offense and I think he’s going to help this team out on special teams as much as he possibly can.”

It’s unclear if Bigsby ultimately will start there on Sunday. The Eagles could deploy both him and Will Shipley on the back line. Shipley led the team with 29 returns in 2025 while averaging 26.8 yards, which was good for 10th in the NFL.

As far as punt returning, rookie Makai Lemon is listed on the depth chart as the starter as of now. The first-round pick returned just six total punts in college and had limited exposure to it during training camp while he nursed his hamstring injury. He muffed a punt in the final preseason game.

Clay said Lemon has been “diligent” in working hard at catching punts after practice. The Eagles also could elevate Britain Covey from the practice squad to return punts. Clay said having the veteran Covey around is “like having another coach in that punt return room.”

Clay also was asked about second-round pick Eli Stowers and his readiness to contribute on the special teams unit.

The coordinator hesitated at first, but then said “yeah,” indicating Stowers was ready.

It’s unclear what Stowers’ role will be out of the gate. The tight end, who converted to that position from quarterback in college, was dinged up late in camp but had a pretty quiet summer anyway. The Eagles kept four tight ends on the roster, and Dallas Goedert and Johnny Mundt figure to see the bulk of the playing time, while E.J. Jenkins could be on the field as a blocker and is much more ready to compete on special teams than Stowers.

“He knows how to block, he knows how to run,” Clay said of Stowers. “A lot of special teams units, you use your athletic ability to your advantage and he progressively got better as the training camp went on. I think it’s a shellshock for a lot of rookies — you’re playing against grown men here in terms of the physicality — but I think Eli, he’s diligent in meetings, he asks questions, he asks to keep on him. I think Eli is going to have a very good career, both as a tight end and he’s going to help out this team special teams-wise as much as he possibly can.”

Listen to the latest episode

The regular season is almost here! All the preseason talk has been about Jalen Hurts and new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. But there’s somebody else who will have a big say in how high the Eagles fly. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane explains why this year, in the absence of traded star A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith has to take the next step, while also taking charge of the Eagles’ wide receivers group. Plus, Jeff dips into the mailbag for listener questions about Jalen Hurts and some key roster spots. Listen here.

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