Ball hawk C.J. Gardner-Johnson gave up too many TDs and tackled poorly, so Howie Roseman traded him

All week, Eagles fans have squirmed as the Birds hemorrhaged defensive talent and did nothing while other teams signed free agents. Then the team made a trade that immediately made it weaker. With Milton Williams, Josh Sweat, and Darius Slay already out the door, Howie Roseman sent his best interceptor packing, too.

At first, the trade of C.J. Gardner-Johnson didn’t add up.

In 2021, without CJGJ, the Eagles ranked 23rd in defense, and they got blown out at Tampa in a wild-card playoff game. In 2022, with CJGJ intercepting six passes, the Eagles defense was No. 2, and they went to the Super Bowl. In 2023, after CJGJ signed with Detroit, the Eagles defense plummeted to 26th, and they again got blown out by Tampa in a wild-card playoff game. And, of course, in 2024, with CJGJ back in the fold, again intercepting six passes, the Eagles had the No. 1 defense and won Super Bowl LIX.

» READ MORE: Milton Williams, Josh Sweat told me before Eagles won Super Bowl LIX they expected hundreds of millions in free agency

Then on Tuesday, Howie Roseman traded him to the Houston Texans for a guy the Eagles hope will never play for them. Kenyon Green was the worst guard in the NFL last season. The Eagles also flipped a sixth-round pick for a fifth-rounder. Yawn.

They essentially cut a starting safety who had six interceptions on the best pass defense, which shut down Jordan Love, Matthew Stafford, Jayden Daniels, and Patrick freaking Mahomes.

Crazy, right?

Gardner-Johnson will make $8.5 million this season, but that’s barely among the top 10 cash outlays at safety for 2025. Why get rid of him?

That’s the question I texted to a former NFL front office executive.

He texted back: “Check the touchdowns.”

I did. Yikes.

Maybe CJGJ wasn’t quite as good as we thought.

According to Pro Football Focus, Gardner-Johnson gave up nine touchdowns in pass coverage last season. That was three more than the next safety. In fact, it’s the most TDs surrendered by any safety in 12 years, since Donte Whitner gave up 12 with the 49ers in 2012.

Disclaimer: The statistics at PFF aren’t official team or league stats. What’s more, charging safeties with TDs is especially imprecise, like charging guards and centers with sacks surrendered. PFF has its issues.

But it’s the same site that claims that Eagles rookie Quinyon Mitchell didn’t give up a TD in his first 15 games and that right tackle Lane Johnson has given up just three sacks in the last six seasons. Unless you want to disregard those positive stats, or unless you think PFF owner Cris Collinsworth has some sort of vendetta against Gardner-Johnson, you have to accept this stat, too.

PFF also says Gardner-Johnson ranks 12th among safeties who played at least 800 snaps, mainly because he didn’t support the run well, tackled poorly, and almost never was asked to blitz. Kind of a one-trick pony.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio wants versatile players, not one-trick ponies.

It’s telling that the Eagles were interested in adding former Chiefs safety Justin Reid, who agreed to a three-year, $31.5 million deal with the Saints. He gave up four TDs and ranked 10th, but, while he had only two interceptions, he was much more consistent in his overall play.

It’s not that the Eagles weren’t willing to spend money on the safety position. They just weren’t willing to spend it on Gardner-Johnson.

This doesn’t mean that Gardner-Johnson has no value. Just not $8.5 million in value. Not for the Eagles.

It wasn’t a matter of adjusting to Fangio’s new defense, either, because Gardner-Johnson gave up two of the touchdowns in the playoffs. Besides, everybody else on the team had to adjust to Fangio’s new defense, too.

To be fair, while Gardner-Johnson gave up the most TDs in 12 seasons, most of the safeties with high touchdown-surrendered totals didn’t make it all the way to the Super Bowl. Gardner-Johnson’s total for the regular season was seven, but that still would have led the league’s safeties in most years. So, if PFF is right, he wasn’t historically bad in that category, but he still would have been the league’s worst in most years.

It’s not that Gardner-Johnson wasn’t a good NFL player in 2024. It’s that he wasn’t good enough to warrant a second season at the same price, even with six interceptions.

» READ MORE: Top 5 Saquon Barkley moments from the Eagles’ Super Bowl season

I’m happy for Gardner-Johnson, as I would be for any defensive player who gets a chance to play for Texans coach DeMeco Ryans. He’s a solid player who has matured.

That said, there might have been other factors at work to spur the trade, among them Gardner-Johnson’s fiery personality.

Maybe the ejection played into it. Gardner-Johnson was kicked out at Washington on Dec. 22 for taunting Commanders players twice, and the Commanders roared back to win the game in his absence. Maybe his recent social media spat with veteran cornerback Darius Slay didn’t help; Slay, who was cut Wednesday, mentioned Reed Blankenship as his natural successor as a team captain and not Gardner-Johnson, which seemed to offend CJGJ. Maybe the Eagles were just tired of worrying about Gardner-Johnson. Who knows.

Much is made of Gardner-Johnson’s energy and aura, but this group of Eagles defenders, from Jalen Carter to Nolan Smith to sneaky swaggy Blankenship and Cooper DeJean, have as much swagger as they have talent, which is to say, a ton.

So, who plays safety next season?

Maybe Sydney Brown, a third-rounder from 2023 whose energy, like Gardner-Johnson’s, must be better contained.

Maybe Lewis Cine, a first-round pick by the Vikings in 2022 who suffered a brutal leg injury as a rookie and whom the Eagles signed off the Bills’ practice squad in January.

» READ MORE: Young Eagles Cooper DeJean, Moro Ojomo, Jalyx Hunt, and Sydney Brown could be called on to contribute more

Maybe the replacement comes from a strong crop of college prospects. Malaki Starks, who projects to the middle of the first round, could join the Eagles’ six-man contingent from Georgia: Carter, Smith, Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, Kelee Ringo, and Cine. The Eagles likely would have to trade up from No. 32 to get Starks or combine star Nick Emmanwori from South Carolina. They probably would not have to trade up for Penn State’s Kevin Winston Jr.

One thing’s for sure: If whoever plays safety for the Eagles in 2025 gives up nine more touchdowns, he won’t be playing safety for the Eagles in 2026.