Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio made fun of Dr. Anthony Fauci on Thursday.
This comes after Fauci refused to answer questions and instead invoked his Fifth Amendment right more than 100 times when questioned at a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs meeting on Wednesday. At a post-practice press conference on Thursday, Fangio jokingly pleaded the Fifth when answering a reporter’s question about the competition at free safety. "I'm gonna be like Fauci and just take the Fifth Amendment out on questions," he said, laughing, when asked whether the job was Marcus Epps's to lose. "Did you guys see that? Oh my God."
He did answer the question when the reporter re-asked it.
"I wouldn't put it that way," he said. "I mean, obviously we're running Marcus there with the first group, with the nickel group, Cooper with the base group. But Carter's doing fine, too. It's [a] competition."
The competition is to see who fills the strong safety position. Reed Blankenship, who was a key part of the Super Bowl champion defense, departed for the Houston Texans in free agency. Epps is now on his second stint with the Eagles and served as a backup in 2025. DeJean is the team’s starting nickel corner; he played safety and was projected during the 2024 pre-draft process as either a “zone corner or interchangeable safety.” Fangio has previously stated that DeJean would rotate up to safety in his “base” 3–4 defense, though seven-man fronts are uncommon in the pass-heavy modern NFL. The Eagles traded for Carter in the 2025 season; he played nickel for his first several seasons with the New York Jets, but the Eagles rotated him to safety upon Blankenship’s departure. Fangio said on Wednesday that DeJean would probably stay in that nickel-safety role, unless someone goes down with injury or does not play well.
At free safety, Andrew Mukuba is coming off a promising rookie season that was cut short by an ankle injury.
The Eagles also have 2026 7th round draft pick Cole Wisniewski, free agent pickup J.T. Gray, 2024 undrafted free agent Andre’ Sam, and 2026 UDFA Maximus Pulley on the roster.
Fangio Invokes the Fauci Joke, Again
Fangio cracked the joke again in reference to another open spot: the Eagles traded for Minnesota Vikings edge rusher Jonathan Greenard during the 2026 NFL Draft. But Greenard is on the Physically-Unable-to-Perform list after suffering while lifting before camp. Fangio previously said he would miss some time. A reporter brought up the possibility of bringing back Eagles lifer and fan-favorite Brandon Graham, to which Fangio replied that they should have asked general manager Howie Roseman at his press conference Wednesday. The reporter said he did.
"And what'd he say?" Fangio replied. "He ducked you? He Fauci'd you?"
The reporters broke out in a laugh. The one asking the question then asked if Fangio was going to "Fauci" him on the question. He responded simply that it wasn't his decision to make.
"I'm at the mercy of Howie," he said.
