Safeties First: New Eagles Safety Justin Evans’ Rough Past And Promising Future

The Philadelphia Eagles lost both of its starting safeties this offseason. They tried to keep C.J. Gardner-Johnson in midnight green, but he severely overestimated his worth and settled for a 1-year, $8 million, deal with Detroit. Marcus Epps, on the other hand, was always expected to leave in free agency and signed a 2-year, $12 million, deal with Las Vegas. Despite going 0-2 at retaining its starters, the Eagles have K’Von Wallace and Reed Blankenship waiting in the wings and, in a swift move, signed former Saints defensive back Justin Evans. The Evans signing has upside, but not without risk.

Justin Evans, a product out of Texas A&M, recorded 165 total tackles, 5 interceptions, and 11 passes defended in college. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Evans in the second round (50th overall) of the 2017 draft. He had a solid rookie season racking up 66 total tackles, 3 interceptions, and 6 passes defended.

Unfortunately, Evans never had a chance to build off of his rookie year with the Bucs. He was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury missing the last 2 games of the 2017 season. From there, things only got worse.

Injury After Injury After Injury

Justin Evans is either very unlucky or made of glass. His injury rap sheet spans all the way back to his senior year of college. Here’s a full list of the safety’s injuries over the past 6 years:

• 2017 – Missed the Senior Bowl due to an unspecified injury
• 2017 – Missed most of the NFL Combine due to a quad injury
• 2017 – Placed on injured reserve due to an ankle injury, missed 2 games
• 2018 – Missed 6 games due to a toe injury, eventually landed on injured reserve
• 2019 – Missed the entire 2019 season due to an achilles injury
• 2020 – Started the season on the PUP listed and waived in December
• 2021 – Unsigned, missed the entire 2021 season
• 2022 – Signed by the Saints, played 15 games (started in 4)
• 2022 – Missed the last 2 games of the season due to a shoulder injury

Plenty of Upside

Over his NFL career, Evans has seen the couch more than the field. However, when healthy, he has plenty of upside. According to statmuse.com, Justin Evans amassed 110 solo tackles, 44 assists, 1 fumble recovery and 4 interceptions through 3 seasons (2 with the Bucs and 1 with the Saints). These are very healthy numbers.

The Eagles are no stranger to low-risk, high-reward signings. Just a couple of weeks ago, the Birds signed Rashaad Penny to a 1-year deal worth $2.1 million. Like Evans, Penny has an extensive injury history. With Evans (and Penny), the Eagles are hedging their bets. Evans is a safety with 39 games under his belt and provides much needed depth defensively. He’s also a versatile player who can play in the slot. He’s only 27 years old, and if he can remain healthy, has a chance to show the world why he was a second round draft pick.

Ironically, the last time the Eagles signed a former Saints safety was when they traded for C.J. Gardner-Johnson last year. Evans replaced Gardner-Johnson when he left New Orleans and will get a chance to replace Gardner-Johnson again in Philly. Competition will be fierce, however, as the Birds just signed veteran safety Terrell Edmunds to a 1-year deal.