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Eagles Can Sign CJ Gardner-Johnson Despite Online Rumors

Should the Philadelphia Eagles sign CJ Gardner-Johnson?
Patrick McAvoy|
Sep 15, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (8) and Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (0) celebrate after making a tackle during the second quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
Sep 15, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (8) and Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (0) celebrate after making a tackle during the second quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

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Could the Philadelphia Eagles reunite with safety CJ Gardner-Johnson in the near future?

Philadelphia cut ties with Gardner-Johnson this past offseason in a trade with the Houston Texans for Kenyon Green. The Eagles have cut and re-signed Green a handful of times since. Gardner-Johnson started the first three games of the season for Texans but they shocked the NFL world on Tuesday by releasing him.

Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reported the news and drama behind the scenes in Houston.

"Texans release C.J. Gardner-Johnson per a league source," Wilson said. "Texans released C.J. Gardner-Johnson after friction behind the scenes with him complaining about his role, wanting to blitz more, per league sources, and even communicating that he wanted to be traded. It didn't work out for him here. M.J. Stewart next man up expected."

Eagles fans split on CJ Gardner-Johnson

Philadelphia Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson
Feb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson celebrates after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX at Ceasars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

With Gardner-Johnson available, obviously that led to a wide range of opinions from Eagles fans on social media.

On social media on Tuesday, there was some chatter asking whether or not the Eagles are allowed to even bring back Gardner-Johnson. The following post from user Anthony Reinhard is what seemingly triggered the buzz which centered around the idea that Gardner-Johnson was traded to the Texans and played just three games with the team before his release.

Despite this, it is incorrect. If the Eagles want to re-sign Gardner-Johnson, they are eligible to do so. Reinhard followed with another snippet of the league rules shared by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport that confirms that if the Eagles want to bring back Gardner-Johnson, they could.

The question is more so about fit over anything else. The Eagles drafted Andrew Mukuba who has looked good in a small sample size so far. Reed Blankenship is very solid. There were questions about Sydney Brown, but safety isn't as big of a question as initially thought.

Last year this was the case as well. There was buzz left and right about which guys the Eagles should've targeted, but in the end, they didn't need to. The combination of Gardner-Johnson and Blankenship was plenty. This year, Mukuba and Blankenship seem like a perfectly solid duo. It's going to be interesting to see what the Eagles do and it's not shocking that there are this many opinions on social media. Gardner-Johnson is a polarizing but very talented player. The Eagles aren't afraid to add talent. Should the Eagles bring him back again?

More NFL: Nick Wright Sends Spot-On Message For Eagles' Jalen Hurts

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also has an MBA from Brandeis University. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Boston Red Sox On SI, please reach out to Scott Neville: scottneville21@gmail.com

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