C.J. Gardner-Johnson won Super Bowl 59 as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. That was his second stint in Philadelphia, and he expected to be there for the duration of the three-year contract he signed in the 2024 offseason.
The Eagles surprisingly traded Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans earlier this offseason, and the veteran safety recently spoke to a local Houston reporter about the trade.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson Understands ‘Business’ of NFL After Trade From Eagles to Texans
Gardner-Johnson was a fourth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft and spent his first three seasons with the New Orleans Saints. He was the team’s primary backup safety during those years and was the starting nickel in 2021. He began the following season’s training camp in New Orleans before being traded to the Eagles in late August.
Gardner-Johnson had one year remaining on his rookie contract and made the most of it by posting a career high in tackles (67) and leading the NFL with six interceptions in 12 games. He signed a one-year, $6.5 million contract with the Detroit Lions the following offseason.
He suffered a torn pectoral muscle early in the 2023 campaign, but returned for the final game of the regular season and Detroit’s postseason run. He signed a three-year, $27 million contract to return to Philadelphia in the 2024 offseason, and started all but one game on the team’s road to the Super Bowl.
Gardner-Johnson posted 59 tackles, 12 pass break-ups, and six interceptions last season, and was unceremoniously traded to Houston this offseason.
Aaron Wilson is a Texans reporter for the local Houston channel, KPRC 2, who recently interviewed Gardner-Johnson during a private workout and asked the Super Bowl 59 champion about his feelings after being traded.
Gardner-Johnson said, “I feel highly disrespected, but it’s a business. Never was an All-Pro or Pro Bowl! Never! Led the league in interceptions. What more do you want? People say, ‘He’s a hazard, he’s this, he’s that.’ I never been no hazard, bro. They got no real issues on me.”
He added, “That black ball ain’t going to work on me, because I got me a ring. I got me one. I got three more championships in me. I’m probably going to win the next three. I’m going to get me another Super Bowl this year. Just watch.”
The Eagles traded Gardner-Johnson and a 2026 sixth-round pick for guard Kenyon Green and a 2025 fifth-round pick. It’s easy to believe that there was more behind the trade than money since Gardner-Johnson was one of Philadelphia’s most productive defenders last season.
The unit finished second in PFSN’s Defense+ metric, but the Eagles were willing to part with their starters.
Gardner-Johnson Brings Super Bowl Experience to Texans’ Young Secondary
Houston’s defense was also exceptional in 2024, finishing seventh in the Defense+ metric. They held the Kansas City Chiefs to just 23 points in the Divisional Round, but couldn’t overcome their struggling offense.
Gardner-Johnson enters a secondary led by 2024 first-team All-Pro Derek Stingley Jr., and is the oldest projected starter heading into the summer. Stingley and Calen Bullock led the team with five interceptions each last season, and Gardner-Johnson’s six make this unit one of the most productive in the league on paper.
The Super Bowl 59 champion knows that the NFL is a business, but is clearly holding a grudge heading into 2025. Gardner-Johnson is confident he’ll win another Super Bowl, but he’ll first have to get the Texans to a place they’ve never been, the AFC Championship Game.