Eagles’ ‘brotherhood’ shines through at Cooper DeJean’s celebrity softball game in Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa — There was an Iowa Cubs game scheduled for Sunday afternoon, but one sweep through Principal Park would have suggested otherwise.

Eagles shirts, jerseys, and memorabilia filled the concourses and seats inside the park, those wearing them hoping to get an up-close view of Cooper DeJean’s rising stardom. DeJean grew up about 130 miles away in Odebolt, Iowa, played for the Hawkeyes, and his pick-six in the Eagles’ Super Bowl LIX victory was one of the game’s pivotal plays. From “Exciting Whites” T-shirts to DeJean Iowa and Eagles jerseys, Sunday could have been dubbed “Cooper DeJean Day.”

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There was baseball played before the main event of the day, DeJean’s celebrity softball game that benefited the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. Before the triple-A Cubs lost to the Syracuse Mets, 5-4, DeJean tossed out the ceremonial first pitch.

It was a reunion of sorts for Eagles teammates, past and present, especially for the Birds’ secondary. Current Eagles A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Sydney Brown, Trevor Keegan, and Reed Blankenship were among the attendees and participants, along with former teammates Isaiah Rodgers and Darius Slay, who are now members of the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers, respectively. Even though they’re on different teams, Rodgers says catching up was like “old times, same conversation, same laughs.”

“I’ve always been there for my brothers, like I was in Philly and how I am today,” Rodgers told The Inquirer. “As soon as [DeJean] asked me, I instantly was like, ‘Yeah’ … [It’s been] full circle having these conversations, asking how each other has been at different OTAs and things like that. [Having] those conversations we thought we wouldn’t be having right now. But it’s all a blessing.”

Added Blankenship: “It’s cool to be around all these guys. You kind of never lose that connection. We pick up where we left off. And it’s funny. We always joke with each other, and it still continues now.”

It was a full day for DeJean, who teamed up with former Iowa teammate Riley Moss, now a defensive back for the Denver Broncos, to captain the softball game. After tossing the first pitch, DeJean did a meet and greet with fans, who wore varying degrees of DeJean merchandise, and wherever the defensive back traveled throughout the stadium, Eagles chants and “Coooooop” followed him.

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Before the home run derby started, DeJean played catch with several kids throughout the stadium and occasionally stopped to sign autographs, along with several of his Eagles teammates who received roaring applause when announced.

“It’s a lot like Iowa,” DeJean said of Philly. “The fans are super passionate, care about their players. Just being there and being able to integrate myself in the city the community has been a lot of fun, just like I try to do here. The fans are great. I’m lucky to have gotten to play for two great fan bases.”

Rodgers, who won last year’s home run derby at Smith’s softball game in Allentown, didn’t quite live up to his billing this year, but second-year offensive lineman Keegan did. He, Blankenship, and quarterback C.J. Beathard, a former Iowa standout who last played for the Jaguars in 2023, were the finalists in the event, before Beathard beat out Keegan in the final round.

A.J. Brown and Smith, who also competed in the derby, did not play in the softball game but did pose for pictures with DeJean and Slay before departing. DeJean said that he is “super grateful” for his teammates coming out to support a cause “that means a lot to me.”

“[Rodgers and Slay] are definitely branching off, doing their own thing. But, I mean, we’re connected more than that,” Sydney Brown said. “We were family. That’s kind of the environment that we created over in Philly this year. And no matter what, we share that Super Bowl together now. No matter where we go, it’s going be like a brotherhood forever.”

Sydney Brown showed off his power in the softball game, sending a homer over the shortened outfield fence in the second inning. Keegan was the star for Team DeJean, homering twice and scoring the team’s first run of the game, and Blankenship also homered. In the end, Team DeJean defeated Team Moss, 13-10, in the inaugural DeJean softball game.

To close out the event, DeJean auctioned off his custom pair of cleats, designed by Philly-based shoe designer “Nxt Lvl Customs.” The cleats featured the Iowa Hawkeyes mascot on the outside and an image of the Hawkeye Wave, a tradition at Iowa football games in which fans, players, and coaches stop at the end of the first quarter to wave to pediatric patients and their families at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. Players re-created that moment ahead of the start of the softball game.

DeJean’s cleats sold for $5,700, with the proceeds going to the hospital. But long after his charity softball game was over, DeJean remained on the field to sign autographs for fans and their children, a testament to how much he resonates with fans in Iowa still, even as he plays his pro ball over 1,000 miles away.