The Philadelphia Eagles were back on the field for voluntary OTAs on Tuesday, and one of the developing early-summer storylines has been the upcoming training camp battle between returning safety Sydney Brown, and new second-round rookie Drew Mukuba.
While Mukuba got some first-team reps to much fanfare in an earlier workout, it’s important to note that Reed Blankenship was absent for that session. Brown was running with the starters on Tuesday, per 94WIP’s Eliot Shorr-Parks, and the starting job opposite Blankenship appears to be his to lose when camp kicks off for real next month.
Mukuba could be a wild-card this summer, though, as the Eagles have a history of playing their second-round picks out of the chute, with Cooper DeJean last year and Landon Dickerson (2023) recent examples. In fact, Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport believes Brown could land on the trade block this summer if Mukuba wins the job outright in camp.
“Much like recently traded edge-rusher Bryce Huff,” Davenport said, “just because the Super Bowl champions don’t have a use for Brown doesn’t mean another team won’t.”
Injuries have held Brown back over his first two seasons as a pro, but there’s no doubt that he’s the biggest beneficiary of Philly’s decision to move on from C.J. Gardner-Johnson this offseason. His versatility to be a core special teams player, and his cheap rookie contract that runs through the 2026 season, makes him an asset the Eagles would be wise to keep, at least to see how a season with added opportunities on defense plays out.
The Eagles could end up keeping three safeties on their initial 53-man roster this summer, with Blankenship, Brown and Mukuba the locks. Tristin McCollum will enter another training camp on the roster bubble, and he would have to ball out big-time to give Philly the motivation to move on from Brown.
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The other factor here? The Eagles could have as many as 13 selections in the 2026 NFL Draft after the Huff trade processes. Cutting ties with a promising prospect like Brown just to add another Day 3 pick to the heap doesn’t make a ton of sense.
Mukuba beating out Brown would definitely be a story in Philly this summer, but don’t expect the team to immediately trade Brown if it happens.
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