Marcus Epps wasn’t sure he’d ever get back to this point. It wasn’t easy for the former sixth-round pick to work his way up the depth chart become a full-time starter in the NFL. But that’s what he became with the Eagles during their Super Bowl run in 2022 before parlaying that success in to a free agent deal with the Raiders. Epps went to Las Vegas and was a full-time starter in 2023 and in the beginning of 2024 before tearing his ACL in Week 3. That began the long climb back to this point. “It feels good to just be back healthy, have a clear mind, be out of that dark place that I was in,” Epps said on Monday. “I’m just grateful. I don’t take any day for granted and I’m truly blessed to be here, right where I want to be. Just trying to keep my head down and keep grinding every day.” After his 2024 season ended early, Epps signed a one-year deal with the Patriots last spring but was waived at final cuts. So he signed to the Eagles’ practice squad in late August as a reliable depth piece and eventually saw the field when Drew Mukuba went down on IR in November. This summer, Epps has been the Eagles’ first-team safety all training camp. And while defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has said it’s a competition between Epps and Michael Carter II, it appears that Epps is on the verge of being named a full-time starter yet again. What would that mean to him? “It would mean everything to me,” Epps said. “I worked real hard to get back to where I’m at. It was a lot of dark days but I still got work to do. I haven’t arrived by any means. It’s a long season and we’re still here just in camp. That’s where my focus is, finishing out camp the right way and continuing to get better.” Epps is 30 now and if he does get named the starter at safety, he’d actually be the Eagles’ oldest starting defensive player this season. It’s clear that Epps brings some stability to the back end of what could be one of the NFL’s best defenses in 2026. After Mukuba got hurt in November last season, Epps filled in admirably next to Reed Blankenship. And after Blankenship left for Houston in free agency, Epps has been getting the first crack at his old job next to Mukuba in the Eagles’ defense. While Fangio has said all summer that there’s a competition for this starting safety job, he clearly became a fan of Epps last year. “I was pleasantly surprised,” Fangio said this spring. “Maybe surprised is the wrong word because I just really didn’t know him. But when he had to play last year, he came in and showed his experience, showed his instincts that he has for the game. I was pleased with the way he played last year.  “I wasn’t considering him an old player at this point, but he’s obviously a veteran. I think he’ll do fine. I’m not sure what his injury history has been, but I think if he stays injury-free and if he wins the job, we’ll be fine.” During this training camp, Carter has had really good moments and has probably made more plays than Epps. But Carter is still learning the position. Perhaps the defense has a higher ceiling with Carter, but Epps provides stability.  So it’s looking more and more likely that Epps will be the starter and Carter will be a backup and multiple positions. Because Epps arrived in late August last year, he had to learn Fangio’s defense on the fly. He has felt the benefits of being able to go through OTAs and now training camp with the Eagles this year. It has really helped him to learn the entire defense and every player’s role in that defense. On Monday, Epps admitted he wasn’t sure what his future would hold after tearing his ACL in the 2024 season. That’s a tough rehab process, but it’s a process he embraced. While Epps said he leaned on his inner circle and his faith in God to help him get through those “dark days,” he also said it helped him to bury himself in the grind of rehab. “I’m a worker so just fully indulging myself in that work, it was able to take a lot of stuff off my mind,” Epps said. It was a long road for Epps, but as he nears the start of his eighth NFL season, the former sixth-round pick is back to being a starter on an elite defense. And he’s doing it in the city that really gave him his first chance. “It’s a special place to me,” Epps said. “It’s like a second home to me. I just love being here, I love working with the people in this building and I don’t take it for granted, man. I’m blessed to be back here.” ...read more read less