Eagles' Star Safety: 'Put Winner Behind My Name'

Eagles' safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson is not afraid to speak his mind.

Eagles S C.J. Gardner-Johnson / John McMullen/Eagles on SI

PHILADELPHIA - Veteran safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson went viral earlier this week when he stepped up and hit a clutch jump shot when challenged by head coach Nick Sirianni.

The stakes were the cancelation of a team meeting and when CJGJ drained it in the NovaCare Complex auditorium (yes, the Eagles have a basketball hoop in there) his teammates erupted.

The Eagles coach has been watching his players enjoying a few minutes of downtime and thought he getting a sure winner before Gardner-Johnson turned the tables.

"To be honest, I [was] minding my own business when [Sirianni] challenged me,” Gardner-Johnson told SI on Eagles after practice on Sunday. 

The coach may or may have not been hustled.

"We had an important meeting that day. They were all shooting beforehand," Sirianni said. "The guys are really connecting in that. Right before the team meeting there is a little bit of a break, and I noticed guys are in there hanging out. Guys are in there shooting. We have a PlayStation. When they have downtime, they're hanging out.

"...So, they're in there and Chauncey hadn't made a shot. He wasn't even close. So, we really needed our meeting, and they were having a good time. Like you know what? Let's put something on this.

"'Hey, team meeting is canceled if Chauncey makes this,’ and he drilled it. So, I don't know if he hustled me. He may have been hustling me. But he hit the shot. Guys went crazy."

"That's like LeBron [James] going cold first three quarters then LeBron hit the game-winning shot. That's how I felt,” Gardner-Johnson said. “Game 7 taking it home from the team."

The always brash Garnder-Johnson was willing to talk hoops but when it came to the football he set down some ground rules.

"Let's address this. I'm not talking about nothing about the past, no trades, nothing about what's going on now,” he said. “Simple. Right now, feeling our team is getting better. Not worried about what happened last year. New team, new year. New roster, new yearbook. So we are focusing on getting better day by day. We are just understanding who we are.

"We go out there and compete. Our main goal is to compete for a Super Bowl."

Gardner-Johnson admitted he’s happy to be back in Philadelphia after a one-year sojourn in Detroit plagued by a torn pec.

“I feel like I miss the team more than the team missed me,” Gardner-Johnson said. “I feel like the camaraderie is back."

Ask him to fit into outside narratives, however, and Gardner-Johnson gets combative.

"I don't care how you all feel. I don't care how you feel, you feel, you feel,” he said pointing to individual reporters. "I'm here to win. I'm here to hold my teammates accountable and hold myself accountable. … If y'all wasn't hating on me, then I ain't doing my job. So I'm glad that's why I get a lot of hate and a lot of critics.”

And Gardner-Johnson had a simple message to those “haters” and “critics.”

"I'm just resembling the same s*&% that you see on the field and practice and the meeting room,” Gardner-Johnson said. “I'm not gonna change. Y'all want me to be this.

“Put this. Put winner behind my name, competitor, and passionate player before you say anything else.”

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