Eagles Reportedly Made a Strong Offer to Chauncey Gardner-Johnson
The Eagles have reportedly opened the door for Chauncey Gardner-Johnson to return. Now, all the safety has to do is walk through it.
ESPN reported on Sunday that the Eagles have made a strong offer to see if they can get their playmaking defender to come back. The network is also reporting that Gardner-Johnson is going to listen to other offers.
Gardner-Johnson released a video on social media last week that made it appear as if he was on his way out.
What a strong offer looks like isn’t clear.
The Eagles could have put the franchise tag on CGJ last week, which would have given them time to negotiate a new contract, and if one couldn’t have been hammered out. Had a deal not been reached, the Eagles would have hoped he would sign the tag that would have paid him $14 million for one year.
Franchise tagging players isn’t the way the organization does business, and Gardner-Johnson would have had to sign the tag or sit out a season.
At 25, CGJ is undoubtedly looking for a long-term commitment, especially since an injury could always play a factor in a one-year situation. He missed five games late last year with a lacerated kidney.
It makes sense then that the Eagles would likely offer a contract spanning three or four years to the tune of perhaps $15M per season.
Three years, $15M per season is what they gave pass rusher Haason Reddick last year.
Reddick, however, took a bit of a discount due to his desire for playing for his hometown team.
Gardner-Johnson won’t have such allegiance, though he is on record saying he enjoyed his one season with the Eagles.
“I got better as a player and a person,” he said in Phoenix during Super Bowl LVII week. “I figured out how to interact outside of football. I learned how to engage differently with my teammates and my friends.”
That said, Gardner-Johnson was asked what type of person he became in his one year with the team.
“I’m a football player,” he said, “smart, physical, and one of the best safeties in the league. That’s how I feel.”
Free agency begins officially at 4 p.m. on Wednesday but teams can begin the so-called legal tampering period on Monday.
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglestoday.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
