Using a Franchise Tag on Chauncey Gardner-Johnson isn't the Eagles' Way
The franchise tag has been a foreign concept for Eagles GM Howie Roseman.
The last time he used it was in 2012 on WR DeSean Jackson. The Eagles as an organization have used it just five times since its implementation.
In addition to applying the tag on Jackson, the other times it was used were on LB Jeremiah Trotter (2002), DT Corey Simon (2005), TE L.J. Smith (2008), and Michael Vick (2011).
In the cases of Trotter and Simon, they ended up rescinding it.
So, what to make of Monday's news from NFL insider Adam Caplan that Roseman will put the franchise tag on safety Chauncy Gardner-Johnson if they can't sign him?
There’s no doubt the Eagles would like to keep Gardner-Johnson, and why wouldn’t they?
Gardner-Johnson is just 25. He’s coming off a season in which he intercepted six passes in 12 games, tying for the NFL lead. Had he played all 17, he probably would have led the league.
He is one of the top playmakers on the Eagles’ defense, along with pass rusher Haason Reddick, who has two years left on the three-year deal he signed last offseason.
The top five highest-paid safeties for 2023 are:
- Chargers Derwin James, $19M
- Steelers Minkah Fitzpatrick, $18.2M
- Seahawks Jamal Adams, $17.5M
- Vikings Harrison Smith, $16M
- Broncos Justin Simmons, $15.2M
Are any of them better than Gardner-Johnson, who is younger than any of the top five?
Certainly, CJGJ belongs in that tier, and a franchise tag - that would be $14.46M - doesn’t put him there.
Roseman knows the rancor tagging a player can cause. The GM knows the rift it can cause in a relationship between the player and the organization.
It’s not a sound business practice, but a last-ditch effort to keep a player in the building.
Though Gardner-Johnson doesn’t talk often to the media, making him tough to read, the odds of him being happy accepting less than he believes he would be worth for one season while risking injury is slim, and probably closer to not at all being happy.
CJGJ knows the ever-present danger of injury after he suffered a lacerated kidney late last season that forced him to miss five games.
He did, however, speak glowingly of the Eagles and their brain trust during Super Bowl LVII week, especially when he was asked how grateful he was for the opportunity to play in Philadelphia.
He thanked Roseman, former defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, defensive back coach Dennard Wilson, and head coach Nick Sirianni.
“I think they made a collective effort to bring me here, and I think they understand who I am, and taking a risk on me,” said Gardner-Johnson. “Everybody thinks it’s a risk, but I think it’s a reward when you get me. Because I’m a player. I’m a player first before anything.”
Perhaps Roseman will stray from his business model of doing contracts rather than applying a franchise tag due to the large number of free agents he has on his hands heading into the offseason and tag Gardner-Johnson while continuing to try to hammer out a deal.
Already, the contracts of four players were voided on Monday – DT Javon Hargrave, CB James Bradberry, and LBs T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White. Those players are now ticketed to be unrestricted free agents on March 15, which is the start of the league’s new year.
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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.
