C.J. Gardner-Johnson is reinjecting the Eagles with edge. ‘Everybody understand: I’m a winner.’

C.J. Gardner-Johnson took the podium Sunday with a set of ground rules.

After finishing up a characteristically boisterous practice session, the Eagles defensive back pulled up his hood, climbed onto the stanchion, and made it known he wasn’t willing to discuss the trials of the past. Not his exit from the team two offseasons ago, not the trade that landed him with the Eagles in the first place, not the way the Eagles collapsed late last year while he was a member of the Detroit Lions.

“Let’s address this, I’m not talking about nothing in the past, no trades, nothing previous,” Gardner-Johnson said. “It’s about what’s going on now. Right now, I feel like our team is getting better. I’m not worried about what happened last year. It’s a new team, new year, new roster, new year book.”

When assessing what’s different about this year’s Eagles team compared to the one that finished 1-7 last year, though, Gardner-Johnson’s presence stands out. How could it not? The 26-year-old best known for his brash personality can bring an edge to a defense both with his play and his chatter. It’s not something limited to games, either. Gardner-Johnson’s voice can often be heard at practice, either through trash talk to the Eagles offense or with shouts of frustration when the defense doesn’t get a stop.

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He can even bring that edge to a news conference.

“No filter,” Gardner-Johnson said when asked about his fit with the city. “I don’t care how y’all feel. I don’t care how you feel, I don’t care how you feel, I don’t care how you feel. I’m here to win, hold my teammates accountable, hold myself accountable. I get [dogged] for saying little things, if y’all wasn’t hating on me I wouldn’t be doing my job. So I’m glad I got a lot of haters and a lot of critics.”

It’s the edge Eagles general manager Howie Roseman conceded the team’s defense missed last season after Gardner-Johnson signed a one-year deal with the Lions, joining the group of impact players who left the Eagles defense in free agency after a successful 2022.

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Back with the Eagles after spending most of last season sidelined with a pectoral injury, Gardner-Johnson is once again becoming one of the key figures on the team sharpening the blade.

“Chauncey just brings an element of toughness to this football team,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said before practice Sunday. “He has relentless effort, right? ... I love that we have him back, I don’t think it’s any secret, I’m a huge fan of Chauncey and what he brings to our football team because it represents a lot of things that we want to be about here.”

Added Gardner-Johnson, “Everybody understand: I’m a winner. Regardless of what you can pull up stat-wise or rating-wise, I’m always on the winning side of football. ... If you look at the course of my career, I’m going to bring a winning attitude. I think my teammates, they understand that I don’t settle for less. If we can’t win, what are we here for?”

Aside from the intangible addition Gardner-Johnson’s personality brings, he figures to be a vital part of Vic Fangio’s rebuilt secondary because of his versatility to play as a deep safety, a box defender, or even a nickel cornerback.

After starting his career with the New Orleans Saints as a slot corner, Gardner-Johnson had his best season as a deep safety with the Eagles in 2022. The former University of Florida safety tied for the league lead with six interceptions in his old position despite missing five games late in the regular season with a rib injury.

Gardner-Johnson returned for the playoffs and had one of the biggest hits of Super Bowl LVII, leveling Kansas City running back Isiah Pacheco in the fourth quarter of the Chiefs’ 38-35 win over the Eagles.

“That hit he had in the Super Bowl,” Sirianni said Sunday, “that was a ‘Man, I can’t believe that guy held onto the football.’ … But he brings that, he brings the knocking the guy out of bounds through the white to the other side that I’ve seen so many times from him. And he plays his butt off, he plays hard.”

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Gardner-Johnson said his playing style is a nod to iconic defensive players from a generation prior, even if it doesn’t always get appreciated as much in the modern game.

“That’s just the way I play football,” he said. “Y’all admire guys that was just like me 15-10 years ago. Ed Reed, Sean Taylor, Ray Lewis, Ndamukong Suh, the list goes on of players who were feisty, passionate, and didn’t take no [crap.] That’s me.”

Through nearly two weeks of camp, though, Gardner-Johnson’s biggest highlight may be with a basketball in his hands. As shown in a video released by the team, the defensive back made a deep shot surrounded by teammates in the Eagles’ auditorium to win a wager presented by Sirianni: Make the shot and the upcoming team meeting would be called off.

Sirianni said Gardner-Johnson’s shooting stroke was significantly off in his previous attempts, which is why he challenged the defensive back in the first place.

“Chauncey hadn’t made a shot, he wasn’t even close,” Sirianni said. “So we really needed our meeting and they were having a good time, so I was like, ‘You know what? Let’s put something on this. The team meeting is canceled if Chauncey makes this,’ and he drilled it. So I don’t know if he hustled me, he might have been hustling me.”

For Gardner-Johnson, the made shot is just another illustration of how he defines himself.

“Put winner behind my name and competitor and a passionate player before you say anything else,” Gardner-Johnson said just before walking off the podium. “Love y’all.”