Eagles May Have CJ Gardner-Johnson Replacement

The Philadelphia Eagles traded CJ Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans earlier in the offseason and that move has been talked about a lot ever since.

Gardner-Johnson hasn't been shy about his thoughts on the move as well. He's now in Houston, but had some things to say about Philadelphia this past weekend. Gardner-Johnson opened up about how he feels "disrespected" by all of the noise.

With Gardner-Johnson gone, the safety group has been the subject of a lot of chatter. Who will fill in for him? The Eagles drafted Andrew Mukuba in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. The Eagles have starter Reed Blankenship in town as well. But, who will start opposite of him? Will it be Mukuba? What about someone like Sydney Brown or Tristin McCollum?

We'll see, but defensive coordinator Vic Fangio also made it sound like 2024 second-round pick Cooper DeJean could see some time at safety as well.

"We’d like to keep him at nickel, and then in our base package we’ll find a spot for him, either at corner or safety,” Fangio said. "A lot of it will end up depending on how the other guys develop and where we most need him. It will be determined by what’s best for him and what’s best for the team — and what’s best for the team will win out in that decision. But he’s capable of playing corner and he’s capable of playing safety...

"I think he would play very well at safety. I think it suits his skill set, things that he does well. I just think he would do very well in there."

DeJean shined last year as a rookie at nickel.

Pro Bowl free agent Justin Simmons is out there in free agency and made it clear early in the offseason that he would be interested in Philadelphia. The Eagles haven't made a move, though. Could DeJean end up being the solution?