The drama was always bubbling just below the surface between CJ Gardner-Johnson and the Saints this offseason, and the results were made clear in this week's bombshell trade.
The Saints' firebrand nickelback is headed to the Philadelphia Eagles in yet another trade between the two organizations, news first reported by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport Tuesday morning.
The Eagles will receive Gardner-Johnson and the Saints' 2025 seventh round pick, while New Orleans gets Philadelphia's 2023 fifth-round pick and the worse of their two sixth-round picks in 2024, per Adam Schefter.
Eagles are also releasing safety Anthony Harris, and CGJ is expected to be a full-time starter for Philadelphia.
The trade came as a surprise just hours before the 53-man cutdown deadline, but it wasn't completely unexpected. Gardner-Johnson was seeking a new deal as he entered the final year of his rookie contract (set to make $2.54 million in 2022), and the team hadn't seemed to budge even as the DB withheld from practice for several days to get a deal done.
Gardner-Johnson, 24, was a fourth-round pick of the Saints in 2019 and made the Pro Football Focus All-Rookie Team that year. CGJ has 161 combined tackles, 28 passes defended and five interceptions in 43 career games.
The defensive back is known as an aggressive player, who has been in multiple fights already early in his career.
With some of the best depth in years at defensive back, it's not difficult to understand why the Saints felt it could move on from Gardner-Johnson, even if it didn't improve the team right away. The Saints invested a second-round pick in Alontae Taylor this offseason, and veterans Bradley Roby and PJ Williams represent quality depth that could fill in the slot throughout the season.
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