NFL teams have had nearly a week to talk with free agents from other squads and negotiate new contracts, and there are still some very talented players looking for their next stop in the league. And Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox ranks former New Orleans Saints safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson as the best player who isn’t signed for 2023. Here’s what Knox wrote of New Orleans’ old fan-favorite:
C.J. Gardner-Johnson primarily played nickel with the New Orleans Saints, but he moved to safety after being traded to Philadelphia last year. He was great in both roles, allowing an opposing passer rating of 67.7 in 2021 and 78.4 this past season. He logged three interceptions in 2021 and a league-leading six interceptions (tied with Minkah Fitzpatrick Tariq Woolen and Justin Simmons) in 2022.
Occasionally, Gardner-Johnson can also creep toward the line of scrimmage and play more of a linebacker role, although tackling is not his strongest trait (11 missed tackles in 2022).
Gardner-Johnson just turned 25 in December. Whichever team signs him to a long-term deal will be getting a multi-positional defender for the bulk of his playing prime.
Gardner-Johnson was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles after a training camp contract dispute last summer, and he played really well — the 25-year-old made a smooth transition to more of a traditional box safety role after the Saints had him line up in the slot earlier in his career, tying for the league lead with 6 interceptions in the regular season (despite missing five games with a painful lacerated kidney injury).
But being traded to Philadelphia hasn’t yet led to the lucrative contract extension he’s seeking. That’s not to say it won’t, though. The Eagles have continually been in contact with him on talks for a new deal, as have the Denver Broncos (who, of course, are being remodeled by his old Saints coach Sean Payton). He should get a nice payday sooner rather than later, and it appears that Philly’s front office is willing to let him walk and recoup a compensatory draft pick in 2024 after they sent the Saints a couple of late-round picks to get him in the first place.
