C.J. Gardner-Johnson dropped the ball with contract

C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

C.J. Gardner-Johnson dropped the ball with latest contract

By Bruce Ewing | Last updated 3/20/23

It’s hard to imagine a player with six interceptions in 12 games fumbling anything, but it looks like C.J. Gardner-Johnson may have dropped the ball with his latest contract.

The 25-year-old safety hoped to return to Philadelphia, and the Eagles wanted him back. But after failing to receive more lucrative offers from other teams, Gardner-Johnson agreed to a one-year, $8 million deal with the Detroit Lions.

According to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Eagles offered Gardner-Johnson a multi-year contract early in free agency, but he and his agent turned it down. The numbers of the deal are unknown, but it’s hard to imagine the Lions’ deal is significantly better.

: Free agent S CJ Gardner Johnson has agreed to a 1-year $8M deal with the #Lions, per @AdamSchefter

Wow! Only $8M? pic.twitter.com/U8L5YwtpIy
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) March 20, 2023

Gardner-Johnson did himself no favors with his social media posts.

First, he engaged in a Twitter spat with Kansas City WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, now with New England, following Super Bowl LVII. Then he criticized Jonathan Gannon, his former coordinator and now Arizona Cardinals head coach, for not putting his players in position to win the game. Finally, he lamented what he believed to be subpar contract offers by posting “The disrespect real!”

Teams don’t like it when players publicly criticize coaches and negotiate through social media. They also don’t like to pay players that miss games. Gardner-Johnson has missed 10 games over the past two seasons.

Even after signing James Bradberry and extending Darius Slay, the team was still looking for a way to bring Gardner-Johnson back to Philadelphia. Reed Blankenship and K'Von Wallace remain as options at safety, while corners Avonte Maddox and Josiah Scott also have experience at the position.

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