Thumbs up or down: Eagles writers weigh in on C.J. Gardner-Johnson-Kenyon Green trade

Howie Roseman’s second trade of the offseason was more surprising than the first. While many were prepared to see backup quarterback Kenny Pickett dealt, exchanging safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson for Texans guard Kenyon Green came out of left field. That doesn’t mean it was a bad trade. Roseman has his reasons and we’ll get to them in a moment. But Gardner-Johnson was a key part of a No. 1-ranked defense that helped win a Super Bowl, and Green had been a huge disappointment in Houston since he was drafted in the first round three years ago.

On paper, that isn’t an even trade even if you factor in the Eagles also getting a 2026 fifth-rounder with the Texans receiving a 2026 sixth rounder as part of the deal. This had more to do with the money, positional value, and projection. Roseman will save about $8.5 million in cash for 2025, and while the Eagles won’t be getting much cap relief this year, they stand to clear a significant amount in future years. Gardner-Johnson wasn’t making a heck of a lot for his position considering his production, but every penny counts and Roseman has cash and cap challenges along with more important pieces that will need to be paid this offseason and next (see: center Cam Jurgens and defensive tackle Jalen Carter.)

The projection part is more where Green comes in because it’s not as if Gardner-Johnson’s play is expected to fall off at age 27. But the Eagles are always going to prioritize their lines and Green could be Mekhi Becton’s replacement at right guard if Becton leaves via free agency. Could is doing a lot of work because Green hasn’t come close to showing that he was worth the 15th overall draft pick in 2022. He has 23 career starts, but he missed all of 2023 with a shoulder injury and was benched last season. The bigger concern has been his performance. He hasn’t been close to good by most estimates. A change of scenery, learning from coach Jeff Stoutland, and playing alongside four of the best at their positions on the O-line could be just what the doctor ordered. Stoutland has often been a miracle worker, but Green’s becoming Becton 2.0 isn’t a slam dunk.

Gardner-Johnson brought some much-needed swagger to the defense last season and he was an important part of the defensive turnaround. He made big plays against the run and the pass, and led the team with six interceptions (two years after he led the unit with the same amount). He could be a liability in the coverage at times, but the guy has played on winning teams everywhere he’s been. Gardner-Johnson, of course, has seen his share of teams. The Texans make it five stops — with two separate stays in Philly — in the last five seasons. That speaks volumes. His emotion, when channeled correctly, had an impact on the field. It also led to his getting kicked out of the Washington game. But Gardner-Johnson certainly made an emotional connection to Eagles fans, and perhaps that’s why there’s been some blowback since the trade.

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He will not be easy to replace. The Eagles don’t have an obvious safety to step into his shoes, although Sydney Brown may get first crack in his third season. I’d expect Roseman to add a veteran to the competition that could also include Lewis Cine and Tristin McCollum, who remain on the roster. The draft could also provide another option. Getting rid of Gardner-Johnson would hurt more if the Eagles didn’t have Reed Blankenship. He might not be as flashy, but he’s been more consistent. He’s also in line for a contract extension this offseason and that may have also factored into the trade, with the Eagles predicting how Gardner-Johnson may react to being skipped over. He’s made strides off the field, but he requires more maintenance than most players. Some may view that as a small price to play for an impact safety. And Gardner-Johnson’s results speak for themselves, which is why I’m not close to sold on the trade. Roseman said last month that the offseason might not look the way fans will want it to look. The Eagles are slated to lose five from the defense that started in the Super Bowl and they don’t have automatic replacements at most of the spots. But the offseason is a marathon, not a sprint. I’ll withhold final judgment for now.

It’s difficult to make the argument at this moment that the Eagles got better as a result of this trade. Still, there is some clear logic behind it.

Gardner-Johnson was a key piece of the Eagles defense in 2024. He brought a sense of toughness and energy that the group sorely lacked the previous year. Roseman rectified the mistake of letting him walk in free agency after the 2022 season by bringing him and his playmaking ability back. There is no denying that the Eagles are losing a solid starter and one of the spark plugs of their defense in this trade.

With Gardner-Johnson’s departure, the Eagles have some unproven options they could enlist to start alongside Blankenship, namely Sydney Brown. Regardless, safety has now become a need for the Eagles heading into the draft next month.

The Eagles lost a bona fide starter on defense and gained a tenuous starter at best on offense in Green. He has been trending toward bust status after three years with the Texans, the team that selected him No. 15 overall in the 2022 draft out of Texas A&M. Now, Jeff Stoutland will attempt to revive his young career, as Green will likely compete for the starting right guard gig in training camp with Tyler Steen.

So what gives? Cap space. Gardner-Johnson was set to count for only $3.7 million against the cap in 2025, which would have been manageable, but he lacked any guaranteed money in the final year of his deal in 2026. At that point, he probably would’ve needed a new contract. Not to mention, he was set to count for $11.9 million against the cap in a 2027 void year.

The Eagles need every bit of cap space to keep their core together in the future and sign deserving players to extensions. Jalen Carter is going to be eligible for a new deal next offseason, as he has two more years left on his rookie contract. He could very well reset the market at his position, in which Chris Jones is currently the top earner on an annual basis ($31.75 million per year).

The only way the Eagles can build out a contending team with top earners is if they also have contributions from young players on rookie contracts. This trade is in line with that philosophy, even if there is a degree of risk behind it.

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It’s hard to feel good about the Gardner-Johnson trade in a vacuum, but it’s a move more about the context than the immediate compensation.

Roseman signed Gardner-Johnson last offseason in part because of the fire that he plays with and the swagger he could bring, and he will once again need to replace those intangibles on a defense quickly losing key contributors to free agency. In a more tangible sense, the Eagles will either need to entrust Sydney Brown to take on a starting role in the defensive backfield or replace Gardner-Johnson’s ball production through the draft or free agency.

This year’s draft class should present plenty of options, although safety prospects can be difficult to evaluate and Roseman’s track record of doing so is as spotty as most general managers’ across the league. In free agency, there aren’t many players who would make sense, given the Eagles moved on from Gardner-Johnson in part because of the financial flexibility doing so would grant them. They’ll clear minimal cap space this year but will save about $8.5 million in cash and will significantly reduce Gardner-Johnson’s cap hits in 2026 and beyond, making possible extensions for players like Reed Blankenship and am Jurgens easier to fit onto an already top-heavy balance sheet.

» READ MORE: Who can replace C.J. Gardner-Johnson at safety for the Eagles?

Still, it’s hard to give this trade a stamp of approval before seeing exactly how the Eagles utilize this flexibility and how they account for Gardner-Johnson’s departure. Getting Green may be an added bonus as well depending on how the offensive linemen fares under Jeff Stoutland’s tutelage. The former first-round pick has the physical traits to suggest he could be a worthy reclamation project similar to Becton before him, but it would take some projection to envision his actually starting for the Eagles given his track record.

The reality is, especially after expending more resources to the linebacker and running back positions, the Eagles were going to need to get cheaper somewhere. Moving Gardner-Johnson achieves that goal and places the onus on Roseman’s ability to identify affordable talent and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s ability to make due at certain spots to afford impact players elsewhere.

The two have earned enough benefit of the doubt to see how they manage to rebuild a defense that has suddenly lost a handful of key contributors, but it’s fair to reserve judgment until we see what that rebuild looks like.