Reed Blankenship is the NFL player that’s easy to root for, the undrafted star from a mid-major college program who not only makes a 53-man roster, but emerges as an impact starter for a Super Bowl champion.
With training camp now just around the corner, the timing’s about right for Blankenship to shed the underdog label and cash in like the prominent starter he’s become for the Philadelphia Eagles.
The fourth-year safety is suddenly the longest-tenured player in Philly’s secondary, and he’s severely underpaid, set to make about $1.4 million in cash in the final year of his contract. As it stands, the Eagles reportedly haven’t made Blankenship’s extension a priority during what has been a cost-cautious start to the 2025 league year.
“Last I heard, there have been no talks about a contract extension,” Eagles insider Anthony DiBona said during a recent live stream of The Philly Special Show. “So I’d just keep it there… according to a source, there have not been talks between the Eagles and Reed Blankenship at this point.”
That shouldn’t sit well with Blankenship’s camp, and with a ton of leverage currently on his side of the negotiating table, he should seriously consider holding out at the start of training camp in an attempt to get some dialogue flowing.
That’s not saying it will happen. Blankenship feels like a ride-or-die Eagle, and he’s definitely among the key locker room leaders now that vets like Darius Slay Jr. and C.J. Gardner-Johnson have moved on. But this is how business gets done in the NFL, and while Blankenship could bet on himself and put the team in a tough spot come 2026 free agency, you could argue the timing is now to try and force the team’s hand.
Simply put, the competition at safety is less than ideal for the Eagles entering training camp. The team replaced CJGJ with second-round rookie Andrew Mukuba, who will need an experienced player like Blankenship if he wins the starting job outright in camp. We know defensive coordinator Vic Fangio likes Sydney Brown and Tristin McCollum, but they played a combined 356 defensive snaps in 2024. Undrafted rookie Andre’ Sam reportedly made a strong impression during OTAs, but he’s looking at more of a depth/special teams role, at best. Ditto for Lewis Cine, who has upside as a former first-round draft pick but is certainly no lock to make the initial 53-man roster.
The Eagles need Blankenship in 2025, which makes their slow approach to his extension a bit surprising. Perhaps they’re happy to take the gamble, knowing the current sad state of the safety market won’t preclude them from making a deal prior to the 2026 league year. They took a similar approach with Zack Baun, waiting until after the season to hammer out a deal — one that was favorable to Baun and made up for him being underpaid based on his All-Pro performance in 2024.
It’s worth noting that Blankenship shares the same representation as Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who is among multiple NFL stars currently holding out for contract extensions. Again, that doesn’t mean Blankenship will take the same approach, but it might not hurt to play the game a little bit this summer. Philly’s first-team defense would look a lot less formidable if he’s not out there to start training camp.
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