The Philadelphia Eagles are turning to a familiar face to anchor a secondary that was overhauled this offseason following a disastrous finishing stretch to the 2023 campaign, thanks to reuniting with safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson this offseason.
Gardner-Johnson returns after an injury-shortened season with the Detroit Lions, but has already made a strong impression on new Eagles’ defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.
How has the boastful, loud-mouthed safety known for trash-talking won over his new coordinator during the early stages of training camp? By going unnoticed, among other things.
“I think he’ll be good,” Fangio told reporters on August 5. “He’s had a good camp so far. The good thing about what he’s been doing so far, and I told him this, there has been a day or two where he wasn’t even noticeable, and that’s a good thing because he didn’t have action come his way in the limited reps he had; whereas some guys can have some screw-ups in those situations.
“I think he’s had a good camp up to this point.”
Gardner-Johnson, the Eagles are hoping, becomes the catalyst for a culture shift at a position group that nosedived as Philadelphia limped to a 1-6 finish to the 2023 campaign.
Philadelphia Eagles Turning to Chauncey Gardner-Johnson’s Leadership
During his first go-round with the organization, Gardner-Johnson logged 67 total tackles as the focal point of a defense that played a major role in the Eagles’ making a run to the Super Bowl during the 2022 season.
“I’m a winner,” Gardner-Johnson recently told reporters. “Everybody understands about winning. Regardless what you can pull up stat wise, rating wise, I’m always on the winning side of football. Regardless whether I’m in the NFC Championship, playoff game, division championship game, you look at the course of my career I’m gonna bring a winning attitude.”
In addition to his production on the field, the Eagles are betting big that he becomes a leader on a defense that features young talent like Jalen Carter, Nakobe Dean, Nolan Smith, Cooper DeJean, and Quinyon Mitchell, to name a few centerpieces chosen in the last two NFL Drafts.
“[He] just brings an element of toughness to this football team. He has relentless effort, right? He does do a great job of tackling and defeating blocks,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters. “And then he plays his butt off and plays hard. I love that we have him back.
“I don’t think it’s any secret I’m a huge fan of Chauncey and the things he brings to our football team because it represents a lot of things we want to be about here. He’s a great teammate and look forward to continuing to see him grow as a player.”
