It’s been about month since the Eagles made one of their more shocking moves of the offseason. The losses of Josh Sweat, Milton Williams, and some others was expected, just as much as the return of Zack Baun was, since it was widely known that getting the All-Pro linebacker re-signed was the top priority of general manager Howie Roseman.
What was unexpected was the trade of safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans on March 12. Gardner-Johnson was the same player he was during his first one-year stint in Philly in 2023, which was playmaker. He led the team in interceptions with six this past season, the same number he had two years ago in his first go-round. That’s 12 picks in two seasons from him. Gone.
The Eagles got offensive lineman Kenyon Green in the deal, and there were some draft-pick maneuvers. Green, who just turned 24 in March, has been a disappointment so far early in his career, and maybe offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland can recapture the traits that made him a first-round pick of the Texans three years ago.
If the trade doesn’t happen, the Eagles wouldn’t be entertaining the possibility of drafting a safety over the course of three days later this month in Green Bay. Now, a younger version of Gardner-Johnson could be on Roseman’s shopping list.
Like every story, this one has two sides. Roseman explained that they dealt Gardner-Johnson to try to free up some money in the long term.
“Every dollar that you spend is a dollar less that you can spend on some of these younger players that maybe you want to retain," he said during the owner’s meetings. “Getting out in front of it was important to us. And again, hard decisions. Not asking anyone to agree with them, but that's part of our job.”
The other side of the story is from Texans coach DeMeco Ryans.
“I got word that it was a possibility, that it might happen, and I was definitely fired up about the opportunity to be able to work with C.J.,” said Ryans during the owner’s meetings. “C.J. has been able to do it at a high level in the league and Philly just coming off a Super Bowl run and the impact that he had on the team, it was really intriguing to me that we could add him to our team.”
This will be CJGJ’s fifth team in five years (Saints, two different stints with the Eagles with the Lions in between, and now Houston), but that doesn’t bother Ryans.
“For every guy that comes into our building, it’s always a clean slate,” said the coach. “I don’t know all the ins and outs of what happened at every spot, like why they’re on multiple teams, but for me it really doesn’t matter because I treat everyone the same, with respect, open arms. You come into our building, that’s a fresh start (and) our first time together, and that’s how I judge it moving forward.”
As for the other side of the Green story, Ryans is hoping that a change of scenery will do the lineman well.
“You guys are getting a young player,” he said. “This guy is physical, tough player, physical in the run game. He’s a young player who’s definitely ascending. Came off some injuries, he’s improved, he’s worked himself back to get into really good shape, and I think his best ball is still ahead of him.
“(He) gets a clean start, new place, new city, I think that’s helped a lot of guys and I’m really hoping Kenyon can benefit from that.”
