Eagles, Texans trade grades for C.J. Gardner-Johnson deal

Last offseason, the Eagles invested heavily into their secondary, and the improvement in that area led to a championship. The team drafted cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean early in the 2024 NFL Draft, but they also signed Gardner-Johnson to a three-year deal after he spent one season with the Detroit Lions (Gardner-Johnson had a previous stint with the Eagles).

Bringing Gardner-Johnson back into the fold certainly helped, but it only lasted one season, and the Eagles are once again moving on from the safety. In addition, Philadelphia released fellow defensive secondary teammates Darius Slay and James Bradberry ahead of free agency. Now, they are banking on the young bucks leading the way going forward.

The Slay and Bradberry moves made sense because of the cap savings that came with their releases as well as their aging bodies. Gardner-Johnson, though, still has plenty left in the tank, and it would have made sense to keep him as a part of the core during the team’s quest to go back-to-back. Losing three key defensive backs could lead to the team taking a major step back in the passing game on defense, and we saw how much a poor secondary hurt the team during the 2023 season.

In addition to his talent (Gardner-Johnson was the NFL’s interception leader as recently as 2022), Philadelphia might end up missing the attitude the Florida product brings to the field. The ball-hawking safety plays with intensity, and he is a leader who can fire his teammates up.

The Eagles’ return in this trade is far from inspiring, too. Kenyon Green was a first-round pick in 2022, but he has struggled mightily on the Texans offensive line. The guard had the lowest Pro Football Focus grade for all guards as a rookie, and he missed the entirety of his sophomore season because of a shoulder injury.

Green not only missed time again last season, but his play was still underwhelming during the 2024 season, and he was a big reason why the Texans struggled to keep C.J. Stroud upright and with time to throw. The Eagles are known for great offensive line play, so a swing on a reclamation project makes some sense. After all, Green will have tons of talented blockers around him.

Even so, Green is a major downgrade compared to Mekhi Becton if the Eagles’ plan is to replace their starting guard from last season who is currently an unrestricted free agent. The Eagles’ defense took another hit with this trade, and their offensive line might be worse, too. Green has potential, and the Eagles offer him a better chance to turn things around than most teams do, but this was still a perplexing move.

Grade: D+

The Texans continue their makeover

While the Texans did better in this trade than the Eagles, it was still far from a perfect move for Houston. The Texans were clearly ready to move on from their former first-rounder, but giving the guard one more year to prove himself could have paid off. In addition to the Green trade, the Texans also dealt away Laremy Tunsil.

Laken Tomlinson is the only offensive lineman they’ve added so far. Tomlinson will be Green’s replacement, but the team still has tons of work to do to fix their troubled offensive line.

With that said, the Texans took the next step forward over the last two years by adding talent to their defense. Gardner-Johnson has winning experience, and he could truly catapult the team into championship contention. While he isn’t an All-Pro-caliber safety, he is still above average at his position.

With Derek Stingley in the secondary as well, the Texans should force plenty of turnovers next season. Gardner-Johnson plays deep down the field and is excellent at tracking footballs and creating turnovers. This move feels a little incomplete, as the Texans are clearly not done adding to their offensive line, but in a one-for-one trade (with draft pick flips as well), the Texans came out on top in this deal, especially if the team is truly under the belief that Green will never turn into a starting-level guard.

Grade: B