March 11, 2026
Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images
Is there still gas left in the tank of former Patriots and Steelers safety Kyle Dugger to be a one-year bridge for the Eagles?
The Eagles didn't value safety Reed Blankenship enough to match the three-year, $27.5 million deal he agreed to with the Texans on Monday. They also didn't land one of the few top safeties on this year's market.
It shows they're likely planning to fill Blankenship's void with a one-year bridge starter on a cost-efficient deal that won't cancel out the third-round compensatory pick in 2027 they should get from losing Jaelan Phillips to a blockbuster deal with the Panthers.
The Eagles aren't very deep at this spot, as No. 3 safety Marcus Epps is also on the open market and No. 4 safety Sydney Brown never acclimated to Vic Fangio's scheme. At the moment, the best option to start opposite Andrew Mukuba could be Michael Carter II, a career nickelback who played safety in college and returned on a revised contract, or even Cooper DeJean.
Here are the best remaining free-agent safeties who'd be good fits for the Eagles:
Approaching 30 and poised to be on his third team in the past two seasons, Dugger is on the downside of his career. But he has 78 starts and 11 interceptions playing for the Patriots and Steelers. If he doesn't get what he seeks in free agency maybe he could be enticed into a one-year deal with the Eagles at a reasonable price that wouldn't jeopardize their 2027 third-round comp pick.
Despite starting 47 games his first four years in Jacksonville, Cisco only netted a one-year deal last year with the Jets at $10 million. He played eight games then tore a pec to end his season. He's probably staring down another one-year prove-it deal. He's just 25, has eight career interceptions, and was an absolute ballhawk at Syracuse, with 13 picks in three seasons. Could be worth a one-year deal.
Wilson, a 2019 sixth-round pick, gradually emerged into a solid starter for Dallas, where he spent all of his first seven seasons. He has 75 career starts and can probably – maybe? – give about the same level of play that Marcus Epps gave the Birds last year as the top bench safety. It won't help his case that he – and the rest of the Dallas secondary – were responsible for the Cowboys having the NFL's worst pass defense last season. But the Eagles need depth and cheap labor where they can find it.
After a fluky 2023 season with the Ravens, who drafted him 219th overall in 2020 and had once released him, in which he picked off seven passes and collected 101 return yards, Stone scored a two-year deal with the Bengals. It didn't work out for the Bengals or for Stone, although Stone did have six picks and 145 return yards despite Cincy's continued struggles to defend the pass. He's only 26 but he did play college ball at Iowa, the same school that produced Cooper DeJean, so he should be well-versed in Fangio's zone scheme. Few college teams play more zone than Iowa does. Could the Eagles do better? Sure. Could they do worse? Sure.
Davis was a traits-heavy prospect from Cal who was over-drafted by then-Jets GM Joe Douglas in the third round of the 2020 draft. But Douglas is back in the Eagles' front office and the Eagles always chase after guys with traits. Davis was also a track athlete at Cal; he won the Pac-12 100-meter hurdle title. Davis started 12 of 15 games for the Dolphins in 2025 after signing a one-year deal for $2.5 million, so he's staring down another cost-efficient, one-year deal. He has nine career interceptions and 34 starts.
• Jalen Mills
• Deon Bush
• Nick Scott (agreed to terms with Commanders, per NFL Media)
• Jaylinn Hawkins (agreed to terms with Ravens, per ESPN)
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