Eagles Stay or Go 2022: Tough decisions at the safety position

Reuben Frank and Dave Zangaro bring back Stay or Go in 2022, trying to figure out the futures of every Eagles player on the roster.

We already looked at receivers, cornerbacks, running backs, linebackers, defensive tackles, interior offensive line, specialists, offensive tackles, defensive ends, tight ends and quarterbacks.

Up last: Safeties.

Andre Chachere

Roob: Up until the meaningless Dallas game, he was leading the Eagles in special teams snaps – over 300 in 15 games - but he mysteriously fell out of disfavor and was a healthy scratch for the Tampa playoff game. That’s not a good sign for his future.

Verdict: Goes

Dave: For much of the 2021 season, Andre Chachere was one of the Eagles’ top gunners on the punt team, which is a very important job. But then he was surprisingly supplanted by Josiah Scott for the playoff game. Chachere was inactive against Tampa. That seems like a bad sign for him. Chachere is an exclusive rights free agent so there’s a very good chance he’ll be in training camp but I’m not so sure he makes the 53-man roster.

Verdict: Goes

Marcus Epps

Roob: I like what Epps brings – he’s tough and physical, a good tackler, typical late-round pick. I don’t think he’s an every-down safety, and at times I feel like he played too many snaps this year, although some of that was by necessity. Give him 20-25 snaps a game in some sub-packages and he can definitely be an asset. Anything more than that is probably too much.

Verdict: Stays

Dave: Epps might never become a true starter but he was good enough in 2021 to force Jonathan Gannon to use a three-man safety rotation. Epps ended up playing 506 defensive snaps (45%) on the season in addition to 244 (54%) more on special teams. Epps is under contract in 2022 and will make just $965,000. For what he gave the Eagles last season, that’s a bargain.

Verdict: Stays

Anthony Harris

Roob: He wasn’t awful. He played the 3^rd-most snaps on the defense. He did become the third Eagles to pick off Tom Brady (joining Byron Maxwell and Malcolm Jenkins). But I expected more from Harris, and now he’s a 30-year-old free agent, and there isn’t any reason to bring him back. One of the big goals for this offseason is getting younger, faster and more athletic in the secondary, and running it back with Harris doesn’t do that.

Verdict: Goes

Dave: Harris joined the Eagles on a one-year, $4 million deal as a free agent before last season and did some good and some bad things. His familiarity with Gannon likely helped land him in Philly but he didn’t play well enough to make you think the Eagles need to bring him back as a free agent this offseason. Harris is 30 and the Eagles would be wise to upgrade this position through free agency or in the draft.

Verdict: Goes

Jared Mayden

Roob: The Eagles signed Mayden in October and he got into a few games to play on special teams, and I suppose a monster training camp could elevate him into the Eagles’ nebulous safety picture, but that’s a longshot.

Verdict: Goes

Dave: The former Alabama safety went undrafted in 2020 and didn’t join the Eagles until late October. He ended up playing in four games, mostly as a special teamer, in 2021. He’ll be in camp with a chance to earn a roster spot but that seems unlikely.

Verdict: Goes

Rodney McLeod

Roob: This is one of the tougher calls in the entire season, and McLeod’s future may depend on what happens in the draft. If you asked me in October, when McLeod was still less than 100 percent coming off his ACL, I would have said no way is he back. But he was really good down the stretch. He looked like the old Rodney. He’ll be 32 before camp starts, and that’s up there in years for a safety, but it’s not going to be easy to replace both starting safeties, so I’m going to give McLeod a seventh year as an Eagle.

Verdict: Stays

Dave: This is one of the toughest in the entire Stay or Go series. On one hand, McLeod will be 32 at the start of next season and Howie Roseman has warned against sentimentality before. You can just keep McLeod around because you like him and because he’s a good leader. But as he got further away from the ACL tear in 2020, McLeod played much better down the stretch. If the price is low enough, it would be worth bringing McLeod back on a one-year deal while also improving the position. I’m on the fence about this one but as long as he doesn’t break the bank — and I don’t think he will — the Eagles could get one more year out of McLeod before moving on.

Verdict: Stays

K’Von Wallace

Roob: He’ll be in the mix next summer, but going into Year 3 it’s time for Wallace to show something. So far, it’s been all about his potential. Wallace didn’t play a single snap on defense the second half of the year (other than the meaningless Dallas game), and on the one hand I would have liked to have seen a little more of him, but on the other hand, if the Eagles felt like he could contribute he would have been out there. He stays, but he doesn’t have a lot more chances.

Verdict: Stays

Dave: I was very bullish on Wallace when the Eagles took him in the fourth round back in 2020. I thought he could become a future starter and was a steal where the Eagles took him. That hasn’t quite worked out the way I anticipated. That’s not to say Wallace is a bad player; he’s not. But he also doesn’t appear to be close to a starting role and fellow young safety Epps has clearly passed him on the depth chart. Still, Wallace is a decent backup and plays a role on special teams.

Verdict: Stays