C.J. Gardner-Johnson Suggests the Eagles "Turned Their Back" On Him
CJGJ was on Up & Adams Friday and spoke about his Eagles departure:
C.J. Gardner-Johnson doesn’t hold back on why he is no longer an Eagle.
📺: @FanDuelTV | @heykayadams | @CGJXXIII pic.twitter.com/iypNdfhqXf
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) May 12, 2023
I didn’t get to hear Kay Adams’ question to see if she specifically asked about the Eagles, because they clipped it, but the social team writing the headline about “not holding back on the Eagles” is kind of a farce. It seems like he’s including the Saints in his answer too, but the Eagles were his most-recent team.
Anyway the whole thing with CJGJ has been weird since it ended. CJGJ and the Birds supposedly went back and forth, he ends up signing with the Lions, and then his agency tweets and delets some sort of weird mic drop about fake years:
Perception Vs Reality….1 Year Real vs 3 Year Fake….which sounds better to you ♟️
1. One year deal = $8m
2. 3 yr deal = $24m max with 17m+ in yr 3Which one you taking? 🎤 drop
Multiple Eagles beats corroborated the same story, that CJGJ was made an offer at the start of free agency and misjudged the market:
I'm told the Eagles did indeed make an offer at the start of free agency, but it wasn't what C.J. wanted, and he turned it down, and by the time he realized he had misjudged the market, the Eagles had moved onto other priorities. So he signed for less with Detroit.
— Reuben Frank (@RoobNBCS) March 20, 2023
Jim Trotter came out and said the Eagles had the chance to match Detroit’s offer and they didn’t. Presumably because they had moved on to other priorities:
Adding some context to CJ Gardner-Johnson's departure from Philadelphia. 👇🏾 pic.twitter.com/CYrHLv2UA1
— Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) March 20, 2023
CJGJ even said there was no bad blood in his introductory press conference with the Lions:
Obviously there is and there always will be because football is a business. It’s gotta be hard for him to have the season he had while playing with a lacerated kidney and not feel the love back from the Eagles. No doubt teams turn their back on a player, but at the end of the day teams have to worry about 53 guys and not just themselves. Just like players worry about themselves and not 53 other guys when it comes to getting paid.
Kinkead: I don’t think CJGJ is very bright –
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson says he has been treated better with #Eagles than with Saints
Says it isn’t a shot at the Saints. Credits the players around him in Philadelphia pic.twitter.com/fMhIEANQS0
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) January 9, 2023