PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles released one starting safety and traded for another.
The Eagles began cut-down day Tuesday with a splashy move, trading for Saints defensive back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. The trade came moments after reports surfaced that Anthony Harris would be released.
The Eagles also receive the Saints’ seventh-round pick in 2025 in exchange for the Eagles’ fifth-round pick in 2023 and the later of their two sixth-round picks in 2024.
Gardner-Johnson, 24, started 12 games for the Saints last season primarily as a slot cornerback. According to Pro Football Focus, the 2019 fourth-round pick out of Florida played 68% of his snaps out of the slot last season and earned a 62.2 defensive grade.
According to NFL Network, Gardner-Johnson is expected to be a full-time safety with the Eagles; defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon has said in the past that his scheme makes slot cornerbacks and safeties more interchangeable than usual.
“The nickel position is a mirrored position with the safety in some things,” Gannon said earlier this month.
Gardner-Johnson is entering the final year of his rookie contract and was eligible for an extension going into this season. The Saints, who have a plethora of talent in the defensive secondary, weren’t willing to extend him. The 5-foot-11, 210-pound defensive back has developed a reputation as an instigator. He had 46 tackles and seven pass breakups last season.
The Eagles’ decision to release Harris, 30, came as a bit of a surprise. The veteran safety eventually re-signed with the Eagles after testing the free-agency market and spent virtually all of training camp working with the first-team defense. The Eagles could bring Harris back for Week 1 if he’s still available. Doing so would make his contract non-guaranteed for the season.
Safety was arguably the Eagles’ thinnest position group coming out of training camp. The team is counting on Marcus Epps to take a leap in his first full season as a starter and had little depth behind Harris. Jaquiski Tartt signed with the Eagles just before training camp but struggled to make an impact and wasn’t at practice Monday following reports of his release.
With Gardner-Johnson and Epps, the team made an apparent upgrade at the starting spots.
