It was good news, but Reed Blankenship thought it might have been too good to be true given the day it was coming on.
“Funny story,” the Eagles safety said Tuesday, the day after getting a huge performance-based bonus and a one-year contract extension within hours of each other. “My agent actually texted me the (bonus) chart, and it was on April (Fool’s Day), so I was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me? This is a joke.’ ”
No joke. Blankenship was getting a $923,059 bonus from the league’s performance-based program and a short time later the team announced a one-year extension through the 2025 season that guaranteed him nearly $4 million over the next two seasons.
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That’s quite a haul for the undrafted free agent out of Middle Tennessee State who has emerged as a key starter in the Eagles’ secondary.
“I want to be in Philly and I want to play for Philly,” Blankenship said. “That speaks more than just getting the contract. I love these fans and how they cheer for us and how they critique us. I love playing here and I want to play here as long as I can.”
Having already beaten the odds that undrafted players face in finding NFL success, Blankenship wants to raise his level of play in his third season after starting 15 games in 2023.
“It’s all about growth,” he said. “I still have a long way to go. I’m fortunate enough to still have some of these great teammates to teach me and some of these great coaches and I’m going to take that opportunity and run with it. I still feel like I have that (undrafted player) chip on my shoulder. This contract extension is a stepping stone.”
C.J. Gardner-Johnson, one of Blankenship’s teammates from the 2022 Super Bowl team, is back after a one-year hiatus in Detroit and those two will likely form the safety tandem in 2024.
“He’s a baller,” Blankenship said. “He’s one of these instinctive guys. He makes all these plays and we need that. We need his attitude, too. It’s going to be great having him back and what he brings to the table.”
Even though Blankenship led the Eagles in interceptions, tackles and overall snaps, his 2023 season did not have a great ending. He missed both the regular-season finale against the Giants and the team’s playoff loss at Tampa Bay because of a groin injury.
When the season ended, he had surgery to repair the problem.
“Unfortunately I had to have surgery,” he said. “It was one of those personal decisions whether or not to do it and I felt like that was the best decision possible. Right now I feel great. I’m pretty much 100 percent back to normal. It felt good not being sore like this past season and dealing with it. I’m really excited to show what I can do.”
In addition to having Gardner-Johnson back in the secondary room, Blankenship and his teammates will be working with a new defensive coordinator for a second straight year after Vic Fangio replaced the disastrous duo of Sean Desai and Matt Patricia.
“I feel like he’s one of those old-school guys who wants his players to be nitty-gritty,” Blankenship said. “He understands that coming here to Philly he’s going to have those players and we’re all excited to get this going.”
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Bob Brookover can be reached at rbrookover@njadvancemedia.com
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