Login
Eagles star Cooper DeJean is back to work at OTAs after a busy spring off the field
Eagles star Cooper DeJean is back to work at OTAs after a busy spring off the field originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Philadelphia Eagles returned to the field this week for Organized Team Activities, but cornerback Cooper DeJean has spent the past two months racking up headlines for more than football. Now the football headlines are catching up too.
Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio confirmed Thursday, May 21, that DeJean will shift to safety in the team’s base defense for the 2026 season, while sliding back to the slot when the defense moves into nickel packages. It’s a considerable adjustment for the All-Pro, who recorded a Super Bowl LIX pick-six as a rookie and earned first-team All-Pro honors for the 2025 season.
The position news is the most football-heavy development of DeJean’s spring, but it’s hardly the only one. Earlier this month, he and Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Abby Summers walked the Kentucky Derby red carpet together, going Instagram official and stirring up plenty of Eagles-Cowboys rivalry chatter in the process. Summers, a former Ohio State dancer and current cast member of Netflix’s America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Season 2, also runs her own clothing brand, Co//lab Collective.
Between the Derby and the position announcement, DeJean made a stop at the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club. He spent time at T-Mobile's Club Magenta on the 15th green alongside Philly sports legends Ryan Howard and Chase Utley and sat down for a chat with PGA Championship Range Show host Smylie Kaufman. During a quick-hitting Q&A, he named A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith as the toughest receivers he covers in practice and crowned Angelo's his go-to cheesesteak. He later captured the moment on Instagram, writing, "Still buzzing from @pgachampionship. @tmobile Club Magenta hits different."
Just days before that, DeJean was back in Philly for the Eagles Autism Challenge, joining teammates including Jordan Davis, Brandon Graham, Cam Jurgens, and Jake Elliott in the Wawa Hoagie 10-Mile Ride. The annual event is part of the Eagles Autism Foundation’s larger fundraising effort, which has helped fund 223 research projects and community grants worldwide since 2018.
So yes, DeJean's spring has covered a lot of ground: a Derby hard launch, a PGA Championship stop, an Eagles charity ride, and now a new wrinkle in Fangio's defense. Not bad for a stretch of the calendar that's supposed to be the offseason.
Read Next:
