Former Philadelphia Eagles defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson signed a one-year contract worth $8 million with the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
The 25-year-old from Cocoa, Florida, made 67 tackles, one sack, eight pass breakups, one fumble recovery, and six interceptions for 54 yards in 12 games for the Eagles in 2022. His six interceptions tied the league with Minkah Fitzpatrick, Justin Simmons, and Tariq Woolen.
Shortly after the signing, Johnson’s agency, Universal Sports & Entertainment Mgmt. LLC put on a tweet saying “Perception versus Reality. 1 Year Real vs. 3 Year Fake. Which sounds better to you. 1. One-year deal = $8m or 2. 3-year deal = $24m max with 17m+ in year 3. Which one are you taking? mic drop.”
The Eagles acquired Johnson from the New Orleans Saints on August 30th, 2022 for a 2025 seventh-round pick. The Saints drafted Johnson in the fourth round (105th pick) in the 2019 NFL Draft. Johnson played three seasons in New Orleans with 161 tackles, three sacks, four interceptions for 76 yards, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and 28 pass breakups in 43 games, of which 31 were starts.
Collegiately, Johnson played three seasons at Florida (2016-18) with 161 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, nine interceptions, three touchdowns, and 12 pass breakups in 37 games for the Gators. In his senior year, he made 71 tackles, nine tackles for loss, three sacks, and six pass breakups in 13 games. In the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against Michigan, Johnson made two interceptions with one of them returned for a touchdown. He was named Defensive MVP.
