Thumbs up or down: Eagles beat reporters weigh in on the C.J. Gardner-Johnson signing

C.J. Gardner-Johnson had a breakout year for the Eagles’ No. 1 pass defense in 2022, collecting six interceptions in 12 games (tied for the league high) and contributing a sack and eight pass breakups. The Eagles allowed him to hit the market, which proved to be a mistake in hindsight, seeing as they didn’t adequately replace him. They had a revolving door at starter alongside Reed Blankenship, and Howie Roseman ultimately had to make a mid-season trade for Kevin Byard, who was never the playmaker the Eagles’ No. 31 pass defense needed on the backend.

So, one year later, the Eagles did what they should’ve done last offseason by signing the 26-year-old Gardner-Johnson to a multi-year deal. He’ll be a welcome addition in the Eagles secondary thanks to his ability to make plays on the ball and his energetic, competitive, trash-talking presence. He also offers Vic Fangio versatility with his experience at safety and at nickel cornerback, the position he played over the first three years of his career with the New Orleans Saints.

But there are reasons to be skeptical about most free-agent signings, and this one is no different. Gardner-Johnson is coming off of an injury-derailed season in which he played just three regular-season games and three more in the playoffs due to a pectoral muscle tear. He also missed five games with a knee injury in 2021 while with the Saints and five more as an Eagle the following season with a rib injury and a lacerated kidney. While Gardner-Johnson is still relatively young, his injury history leaves room for concern for his future availability.

Gardner-Johnson is set to return on a three-year deal worth up to $33 million. “Up to” ought to be doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Assuming the deal is incentive-laden, this addition makes sense for the Eagles.

» READ MORE: C.J. Gardner-Johnson says he’s grown more mature and expands on his apology to Eagles fans

The Eagles clearly missed Gardner-Johnson both as a playmaker and a tone-setter in the secondary last season, but choosing him in a talented pool of free-agent safeties this year comes down to more than last offseason’s missed opportunity to retain him.

Gardner-Johnson’s production with the Eagles in 2022 and the versatility he presents with experience both as a nickel cornerback and a safety make him an ideal fit for Fangio’s system. The 26-year-old started his career in the slot for the Saints before converting to safety with the Eagles before the 2022 season and tying the league lead with six interceptions despite playing just 12 games. He stayed on the back end with the Lions last year, although he missed all but three regular-season games with a pectoral injury.

Fangio uses safeties like chess pieces with pre-snap disguises and varied alignments, which Gardner-Johnson is well-suited for. There were a handful of intriguing safety options with a better track record of production than Gardner-Johnson, but few offered the same degree of versatility.

» READ MORE: Eagles’ free-agent additions on defense won’t matter if Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean can’t play

Former Broncos safety Justin Simmons was an obvious candidate passed over by the Eagles. The 30-year-old was second-team All-Pro last season and has experience playing under Fangio, but may not be the type of young building block the team was after and doesn’t have the same level of versatility. It’s also fair to point out Simmons still hasn’t signed more than a week into the new league year, meaning his market may not have materialized as much as his past production would suggest it should.

Durability will be a major factor when determining the value of the Gardner-Johnson deal in a few seasons. He was sidelined with a torn pectoral for most of the 2023 season and missed time with the Eagles due to a lacerated kidney. He had a knee strain with the Saints in 2021 as well, which held him out for four games.

Overall, the Eagles secondary got significantly better and more fiery with the Gardner-Johnson signing. The floor may not have been as high as other free-agent safeties may have offered, but there’s upside for him to become a cornerstone for a defense that sorely lacked them last season and the type of player to ratchet up the intensity for his teammates, either with his words or his play. There’s still work to be done in the secondary, but Gardner-Johnson is a solid start.

Gardner-Johnson’s return to the Eagles was an admittance by both the team and player that last offseason’s public divorce was probably a mistake. The safety said he never wanted to leave. He shouldn’t have overestimated his worth and taken a three-year offer that would have given him some stability and a chance to earn an extension before he turned 27. The Eagles, in turn, shouldn’t have been so quick to move on. They used the available funds to essentially re-sign cornerback James Bradberry, which in retrospect, blew up in their faces. And they didn’t adequately replace Gardner-Johnson and fellow safety Marcus Epps, who also left in free agency. The Eagles brought in Terrell Edmunds and Justin Evans, neither of whom panned out, and then traded for Byard in-season, and he wasn’t the answer either.

Gardner-Johnson moved on to Detroit, but he suffered a torn pectoral injury in Week 2 and didn’t return until the season finale. He had his ups and downs in the postseason and was again a free agent this offseason. The safety market was deep, but the Eagles waited and ultimately inked Gardner-Johnson to a three-year contract “worth up to” $33 million. The exact details of the deal aren’t yet known, but the guess here is that he’s getting somewhere in the neighborhood of $18 million over two years in guaranteed money. I don’t think that’s an egregious amount, but Gardner-Johnson isn’t exactly a “clean” prospect. He can be inconsistent, has missed 23 games to injury over the last three seasons, and is a bit of a wild card in terms of temperament.

» READ MORE: Eagles’ C.J. Gardner-Johnson gets Malcolm Jenkins’ seal of approval

The Eagles, though, had him in-house for a season and know that when it came to football, he bought in. He may not have handled contract negotiations well, and took a few shots at Philadelphia fans on the way out, but if he comes in and brings fire to the defense, all will be forgotten. Gardner-Johnson’s versatility can’t be understated. He can thrive in the box or in the post, and it’s likely he’ll do his share of the latter alongside Blankenship in the new defensive coordinator Fangio’s split-safety coverages. But in sub packages he can also move into the slot, which would allow second-year safety Sydney Brown to get on the field. He did as much in Jonathan Gannon’s similar system two seasons ago.

Gardner-Johnson’s playmaking ability was sorely missed last season. His six interceptions in 12 games in 2022 were only three less than the Eagles defense had as a whole last season. He will miss his share of tackles and blow the occasional coverage assignment. But it’s that aggressiveness that has led to Gardner-Johnson being a disruptor. He’s still young and has time to improve his mental game. If he can mature into the role of a leader he already has most of the traits to follow in the footsteps of Malcolm Jenkins, his mentor with the Saints. He just has to go do it.