Reed Blankenship should want a new contract sooner rather than later and the Eagles should probably get it done.
The NFL “dead zone” is upon us, with very little news likely to surface between now and the start of training camps towards the end of July. Even so, now is the perfect time to take a closer look at the roster and where the Eagles still have some moves to make. Howie Roseman has been busy this offseason, orchestrating a number of large extensions and free agent additions to get this roster in top competitive shape heading into the summer.
Roseman’s success as a cap manager goes hand-in-hand with his success in the NFL Draft, and that means a number of promising young players will soon come up for contract extensions. Reed Blankenship is a great success story for the Eagles, going from 2022 UDFA to plus starter in just two seasons. Now entering the final year of his rookie deal, he’s someone Philadelphia may want to consider extending sooner than later.
Blankenship was signed as a UDFA after surprisingly falling out of the draft, and immediately carved out a rotational and special teams role as a rookie. He would go on to start 15 games in 2023 as a well above-average starter, with particular strength as a coverage player with three interceptions and 11 PDs. Blankenship continued to start in 2024, setting a career high in interceptions (4) and continuing to grow as a run defender.
Let’s take a closer look at a potential extension for Reed Blankenship.
What would a contract extension for Reed Blankenship look like?
While Reed Blankenship is well-known among Eagles fans (and safety aficionados like myself), the NFL at large doesn’t seem to appreciate his game the same way. I think you could look at Blankenship’s well-rounded game and conclude that he’s worth premier safety money, certainly rivaling someone like Tre’von Moehrig. For reference, Moehrig just signed at $17 million annualy with the Carolina Panthers. While that type of money is possible, I think Blankenship is a bit more under-the-radar and is likely to come in lower.
Instead, I’m looking at two other safeties who also got paid this offseason: Jevon Holland and Cam Bynum. Both are very good players and both got roughly $15 million annually. I think that’s a more reasonable starting point for Blankenship, although his play in 2025 could certainly vault him higher.
Using those contracts as a starting point, here’s my projection for a potential Reed Blankenship extension:
Reed Blankenship projected extension: 3 years, $45M ($15M APY), $22.5M guaranteed including $10M signing bonus
This contract would immediately make Blankenship the tenth-highest paid safety in the NFL at $15 million annually, tied with Bynum and just a hair below Holland at $15.1M APY. His $22.5 million (50%) of guarantees works out to be better than Bynum’s (43.3%) and just a bit behind Holland’s (60.5%).
I think the Eagles would be wise to get this deal done with Blankenship as soon as possible. The NFL has shown a willingness to finally start paying safeties a bit more, and Blankenship could easily rocket himself into the $20 million annual range if he turns in a career year in 2025. Given Philadelphia’s lack of proven safety talent behind him, building this room around Blankenship long-term makes a ton of sense.
Blankenship’s consistency and age (26 and will be 27 during the 2026 season) make him a logical extension candidate, and it’s possible he could wind up outplaying the deal. He’s a good starter at a position that is suddenly experiencing a bit of a renaissance, with added importance thanks to teams starting to shift back to the run game. Blankenship is about as well-rounded as they come, with high-level coverage ability to go along with consistently solid run defense.
While the Eagles did add intriguing rookie Andrew Mukuba and have Sydney Brown returning from injury, I’m not sure that’s enough to give me pause in extending Blankenship. While both of those players could emerge as starters, and the Eagles are certainly hoping at least one of them becomes a full-time starter this season, risking Blankenship on the open market next year just seems like an unnecessary risk. It’s important to note that the Eagles have spent a lot of future money, and the team will have to be careful about their spending going forward as a result.
What are your thoughts on this potential extension for Reed Blankenship? Do you think he’s worthy of extending at a high price given his consistency and the state of the Eagles safety room? Or would you prefer to wait and see if some of the young players can show enough promise to let Blankenship walk in 2026?
