Eagles’ Projected $45 Million Safety Warned Against ‘Disastrous’ Career Move

To this point in his career, Philadelphia Eagles safety Reed Blankenship has defied the odds in some pretty incredible ways.

In just 3 seasons, Blankenship went from being an undrafted free agent out of Middle Tennessee to a starter on a Super Bowl-winning defense — as unusual of a career path as you can get in the NFL. In fact, he’s played in 2 Super Bowls in his first 3 seasons.

In that time, the Eagles’ investment in Blankenship has paid off in some pretty incredible ways. Over his first 3 seasons Blankenship has started 34 games, including 15 each of the last 2 seasons, along with a career high 4 interceptions in 2024 and 8 career interceptions.

In that time, he’s made approximately $1.46 million in average annual salary and just $4.4 million in career earnings and hes’ due just $1.475 million in 2025. That’s unbelievable savings for a team trying to stretch its dollars on the defensive side of the ball ahead of massive contract extensions coming down the pipeline for NFL All-Pro defensive tackle Jalen Carter and others.

Bleeding Green Nation projects Blankenship to be in line for a 3-year, $45 million contract extension with $22.5 million in guaranteed money. Him getting anywhere close to that kind of money might be another story altogether.

Blankenship Faces Critical Career Crossroads

One option for Blankenship is to play out his current, terrible contract with the Eagles and hope free agent money is still there one year from now. There’s another, messier path he could take as well.

Yahoo’s Ryan Leary thinks Blankenship should play hard ball with the Eagles and sit out of training camp until he gets a new deal.

Eagles rookies and veterans are scheduled to report to training camp on July 22.

“With a ton of leverage currently on his side of the negotiating table, (Blankenship) should seriously consider holding out at the start of training camp in an attempt to get some dialogue flowing,” O’Leary wrote on July 3. “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.”

In no uncertain terms, holding out would be the worst possible decision Blankenship could possibly make. Trying to force the hand of one of the NFL’s most generous owners in Jeffrey Lurie and one of the most cutthroat general managers in Howie Roseman actually seems like it might be career suicide.

Blankenship Named NFL’s ‘Most Underrated Player’

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.”