The Houston Texans took a bold step to bolster one of the league’s most talented young secondaries with an experienced playmaker, acquiring veteran C.J. Gardner-Johnson in a trade with the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles this offseason.
That trade began the clock for Gardner-Johnson and the Texans.
Gardner-Johnson is in Year 2 of a three-year, $27 million contract, and Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton believes there is no reason for the Texans not to extend him.
“Gardner-Johnson is past the prove-it stage of his career. He logged six interceptions in two of the last three seasons, recorded 12 pass breakups last year and plays multiple positions at a high level,” Moton wrote on June 21. “The Texans know what they acquired when they traded for him. He’s an underpaid addition with only $2 million guaranteed on his contract for the year.”
Gardner-Johnson tallied 59 total tackles in 2024.
He finished 11th in voting for Comeback Player of the Year after he missed all but three games in 2023 with the Detroit Lions due to a torn pectoral muscle. A fourth-round pick by the New Orleans Saints in 2019, he was also a member of the All-Rookie Team.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson Rejects Eagles Trade Explanation
Gardner-Johnson has developed a reputation for being just as much of an agitator on the field as he is a playmaker. That outspoken nature has also been put on display when speaking about his previous stops, such as Gardner-Johnson’s take on his trade to the Texans.
The safety pushed back on Eagles general manager Howie Roseman’s claims that the decision to trade him was financially motivated.
The Eagles spent the fifth-most cap dollars on extensions this offseason, per Spotrac.
“It wasn’t about money,” Gardner-Johnson told KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson on June 7. “If it was about money, everybody would have been gone. How can I say this in the most respectful way? Saquon [Barkley] deserved it. Zack [Baun] deserved it. But the reasons behind it, the fans don’t deserve that reason.
“It’s deeper than that, and the fans don’t deserve, ‘It’s about the money.’ Because if that was the case, my contract was safe.”
Gardner-Johnson was, of course, not among the group of Eagles players extended.
“I feel highly disrespected, but it’s a business,” Gardner-Johnson told Wilson in comments published on June 7. “Never was an All-Pro or Pro Bowl! Never! Led the league in interceptions. What more do you want?”
C.J. Gardner-Johnson Pushes Back on Negative Narrative After Texans Trade
Gardner-Johnson also took umbrage with the idea that he is problematic, a narrative reinforced by the Texans being with his third organization in three seasons. His trade to the Texans also marks his second in the past four years.
“People say, ‘He’s a hazard, he’s this, he’s that.’ I never been no hazard, bro. They got no real issues on me. That black ball ain’t going to work on me, because I got me a ring,” Gardner-Johnson said, per Wilson. “I got me one. I got three more championships in me. I’m probably going to win the next three. I’m going to get me another Super Bowl this year. Just watch.”
Gardner-Johnson expressed excitement about playing for Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans, citing his experience as an accomplished player in his own right.
Ryans also spoke highly of Gardner-Johnson.
