Texans' New DB May Have Just Thrown Shade at Eagles' Jalen Hurts

Earlier this offseason, the Houston Texans swung a trade for a player who is certainly not shy about sharing his opinions and emotions: former Philadelphia Eagles defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

Gardner-Johnson just played a significant role in the Eagles' run to a Super Bowl championship, but was ultimately dealt to the Texans in exchange for offensive lineman Kenyon Green back in March.

Clearly, the 27-year-old is holding a grudge against Philadelphia, as he has spoken out against his former team numerous times since being acquired by Houston.

Most recently, Gardner-Johnson responded to a fan during an Instagram live stream who told the champion that he would never win another ring, remarking that the Eagles would not win another Super Bowl without him.

Gardner-Johnson was riding in a golf cart at the Texans' facility while chatting it up with fans, and toward the end of the video, he pulled up alongside of quarterback C.J. Stroud. That was when the University of Florida product appeared to throw some subtle shade at Philly quarterback Jalen Hurts.

"Hey that's the best quarterback in the game right now. No, that's C.J. Stroud," Gardner-Johnson said.

Perhaps Gardner-Johnson was genuinely just being complimentary of his new teammate, but based on all of his previous comments about his former Eagles club, you can't help but feel that he was also throwing a slight jab at Hurts in the process.

Hurts has already won a Super Bowl and has participated in two of them. He also finished second in MVP voting back in 2022, so it's very hard to place Stroud above him right now.

Stroud actually had a disappointing year in 2024, finishing with 3,727 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions after enjoying a historically great rookie campaign.

We'll see if Stroud can bounce back this coming season and if Gardner-Johnson can elevate what already was a terrific Texans secondary.