The Detroit Lions are signing C.J. Gardner-Johnson. After his one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles expired he became a free agent and agreed on another one-year deal. This time he will receive $8 million, being $6.5 million guaranteed, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson joined the Philadelphia Eagles on a late and sudden move last offseason. He left the New Orleans Saints after three seasons to play 12 games with the Eagles this season and finish the year losing, but playing, the Super Bowl LVII.
Another big mark on C.J.’s season was the fact that he finished the regular season leading the league in interceptions, with six. He tied with another three players in the position but still had his personal career high.
Apparently, the deal didn’t please Gardner-Johnson’s agents though. The Universal Sports & Entertainment Mgmt., the company that represents the player, commented on their Twitter account about what seemed to be the proposal not accepted by Detroit. They deleted the post right after, but it suggested that the Lions didn’t accept a three-year, $24 million deal and went for the one-year option.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson
The safety was drafted in 2019 by the New Orleans Saints, with the no. 104 overall pick, in the 4th round. After a lot of snaps with the special teams in his rookie season, including a huge mistake on his first career game, he became a key player for the Saints' defense.
After that, he also became one of the most known trash-talker in the league. Not so rarely opponents would lose their minds because of what C.J. Gardner-Johnson says on the field. The major case happened in the 2020 season when Javon Wims did that.
In his four-season career so far, Gardner-Johnson played a total of 55 games. During this period he has 228 tackles (183 solo + 45 assisted), four sacks, one forced fumble, one recovered fumble, 28 passes defended and 11 interceptions.
