It seems fans will have to wait a little longer to hear who the Philadelphia Eagles will be trotting out with the starting defensive unit on Thursday night’s season-opening game against the Dallas Cowboys. Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio had a press conference on Monday, where reporters asked him who a few defensive starters would be.
“Who’s starting at cornerback?” one reporter asked Fangio.
“Ah, not sure yet,” Fangio replied. After a moment, he realized this sent the wrong message, and clarified. “I’ll let [Eagles head coach] Nick [Sirianni] announce that.”
“You know already?” another reporter inquired.
“Pretty much, yeah,” Fangio said. When asked about linebacker, he repeated, “Nick will announce that.” After that, a reporter jokingly asked the same question about safety, to which Fangio responded, “[Eagles general manager] Howie [Roseman] will announce that!” with a wry smile.
Several Starters Yet to Be Announced on the Philadelphia Eagles Defense
Mitchell Leff/GettyPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – AUGUST 16: Head coach Nick Sirianni of the Philadelphia Eagles looks on against the Cleveland Browns in the first half of the NFL Preseason 2025 game at Lincoln Financial Field on August 16, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Cleveland Browns defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 22-13. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
As the reporters alluded to, there have been three main positional battles raging on in Philadelphia this summer, at least on defense. They are at cornerback, linebacker, and safety.
Linebacker is the most starightforward. The Eagles run a 3-4 defense, so they only have two inside linebackers on the field most of the time. Zack Baun, the former All-Pro, is locked into one of those spots. With Nakobe Dean on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list to start the year, meaning he’ll miss at least the first four games of the season, the other spot is up for grabs. Rookie first-round pick Jihaad Campbell is battling 2024 fifth-round pick Jeremiah Trotter Jr. for the role.
At safety, it’s a two-way battle. Reed Blankenship is one starter, but rookie second-round pick Andrew Mukuba is competing with incumbent starter Sydney Brown for the other spot. Mukuba has been absolutely sensational through camp, but Brown played well last season.
At cornerback, it gets more complicated. Quinyon Mitchell is one of the starters on the outside, with Cooper DeJean manning the nickel corner spot. Adoree’ Jackson, Kelee Ringo, and Jakorian Bennett have been battling for the other outside spot, which is already a crowded competition. But it gets more interesting.
If Mukuba loses the safety battle to Brown, he can also play nickel corner. In theory, the Eagles could move DeJean to the other outside corner spot and play Mukuba in the slot, if he’s a better option than any of Jackson, Ringo, or Bennett — that is, if he doesn’t win the job at safety.
Can the Eagles Repeat as Super Bowl Champs?
The Eagles are set to begin their title defense on Thursday, when they host their division-rival Dallas Cowboys to kick off the 2025 NFL season. So will begin their quest to defend their title. Can they do it? Only time will tell.
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