New Orleans Saints created an uproar on Tuesday in response to the team’s decision to trade C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a couple of future draft picks, having failed to reach an agreement on a long-term extension with one of their star defenders. Intriguingly, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that the Eagles envision a different role for Gardner-Johnson than what he experienced in New Orleans — Philadelphia sees him lining up as a true safety as opposed to the slot corner role he played for the Saints.
That’s not something Gardner-Johnson has done often in the NFL. He’s primarily covered the slot for New Orleans, lining up there on 15 of his 16 defensive snaps played this preseason alone (prior to that, and more importantly, he’s moved to the slot on 1,452 of his 2,184 career defensive snaps with the Saints, or about 66.5%). So the Eagles are betting on him excelling in more of a box role, which makes sense. Gardner-Johnson has always played his best football when keeping things in front of him.
