This is too good of a story to stop telling, the one of Reed Blankenship in his rookie season of 2022 after five years at Middle Tennessee State and how he signed with the Eagles following the NFL Draft in the spring and made it all the way to the third and final preseason game as an under-the-radar candidate to make the 53-man roster.

In that preseason game, largely forgettable from an Eagles’ standpoint given the 48-10 beating Miami administered, Blankenship continued to impress with five total tackles, physical play, and a command of coordinator Jonathan Gannon’s defense.

And then, he sweated through the next 48 hours as Executive Vice President/General Manager Howie Roseman reduced the roster to 53 players.

“I remember it just like it was yesterday. I felt like I played every snap and by the end of the game, I was like, ‘If they don’t like me, I’m sure somebody will. I left it all out there.’ I played every snap like it was my last snap,” Blankenship said the other day after Training Camp practice at the NovaCare Complex. “If they didn’t like me, then it wasn’t meant to be. As it turned out, they liked me and here I am.”

Here he is, a three-year starter who has played in two Super Bowls with one World Championship. Blankenship is a huge part of the Eagles’ defense from the safety position, an extremely popular player with the fans, and an example of why every preseason game matters.

“Absolutely, they do. Players are out there trying to earn jobs. This is how we make our profession,” Blankenship said. “All you want is to get a fair chance, an opportunity, and then the rest is up to you. That’s how I have always looked at it and that’s the advice I have for the players who are on the so-called bubble. It’s tough. It’s stressful and it can impact you if you allow it to happen.

“You have to stay healthy, put yourself in the best position you can to succeed, and then go out and give it everything you have on every play and see what happens after that.”

Friday’s preseason finale at the New York Jets (7:30 PM, NBC10 and SportsRadio 94WIP in Philadelphia) is going to feature a lot of players on that “so-called bubble.” Cuts are coming soon – Tuesday at 4 PM is the deadline – and the intensity level is off the charts for a lot of these young men who have worked so hard since becoming members of this football team.

“I’ve been through it and you just have to learn to control what you can control,” said cornerback Parry Nickerson, who has played in 30 games in five NFL seasons with the Jets, Jaguars, Packers, Vikings, and Dolphins and who last year helped the Eagles on the practice squad. “Lay it all on the line. You know you are playing for every team in the league and you never know what is going to happen. Just prepare the right way, go out and have fun, and play your best ball.”