$3.5 Million Safety Called ‘Most Important Contract Extension’ for Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles don’t do business like the Dallas Cowboys when it comes to contract extensions. When they see an obvious move — a player who it’s clear needs to remain on the roster — they pounce. They don’t wait and pay more money.

In the end, it’s what saves them money and keeps them fiscally responsible. One example, on a much smaller scale, was signing safety Reed Blankenship to a 1-year, $3.5 million contract extension in April 2024 that kept the former undrafted free agent on the roster through 2025.

For a player who has started 15 games each of the last 2 seasons, including in 2024 on a Super Bowl champion squad, that’s a pretty epic savings.

It’s also why the Eagles are being encouraged to re-up with Blankenship again before the market catches up with them, and it could be a great savings if they make the deal now.

Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton called Blankenship’s potential new deal the “Most Important Contract Extension” facing the Eagles headed into 2025.

“Last offseason, the Eagles signed Blankenship to a one-year extension after his first full season as a starter,” Moton wrote on June 21. “This year, they should offer him a multiyear deal. He proved that his 2023 campaign wasn’t a fluke, following it up with another productive term. Over the last two years, he’s recorded 17 pass breakups and seven interceptions, allowing a 72.5 passer rating last season. He can command a sizeable pay raise in his contract year.”

What a sizeable raise looks like to Blankenship or the Eagles is where the debate really begins.

Figuring Out Blankenship’s Contract Extension

The Eagles sent the one highly paid safety they had on the roster packing via a trade, sending C.J. Gardner-Johnson and his $9 million annual salary to the Houston Texans.

That leaves Blankenship as the veteran presence at safety, where he’s slated to move to strong safety and have rookie and second round pick Andrew Mukuba step in at free safety as a plug and play starter.

That’s putting a lot on Mukuba, which means it makes sense for the Eagles to try and lock down Blankenship now. That might start with a 2-year, $10 million offer with a pretty big variable — meaning the Eagles are willing to go up to $15 million if negotiations get tough.

PFF’s Jonathan Macri called Blankenship the “Most Underrated Player” on Philadelphia’s roster headed into 2025.

“On a Super Bowl-winning roster, there will always be some unsung heroes whose contributions might get overlooked, and Blankenship stands out,” Macri wrote on May 14. “As a former undrafted free agent, Blankenship has assumed a locked-in starter over the past two seasons and delivered an 87.2 PFF coverage grade, which ranks eighth among 129 qualifying safeties since 2022.”

Blankenship made the Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2022, started 4 games as a rookie and played in a Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He took over as starting free safety in 2023, when he had a career high 113 tackles to go with 3 interceptions and 11 pass deflections. In 2024, Blankenship had 78 tackles and a career high 4 interceptions along with 6 pass deflections — he has 8 interceptions through his first 3 seasons.