CJ Gardner Johnson is gone. He has signed with the Detroit Lions. But he got just a one-year, $8 million deal. Leaving many to wonder why the Eagles would not give him that. Was there bad blood between the two sides? Or did they just not value him very highly? Earlier today, Jeff McLane from the Philly Inquirer joined the Anthony Gargano Show. He tried to explain why the Eagles may have passed on him, and why there was not more interest in him on the free-agent market.

"The Eagles viewed him as a guy that once he got a huge contract, how was he going to behave?" – @Jeff_McLane on C.J. Gardner-Johnson

— 975TheFanatic (@975TheFanatic) March 21, 2023

"The fact the Saints dealt him for a 5th-round pick makes you wonder." – @Jeff_McLane on C.J. Gardner-Johnson's off the field character

— 975TheFanatic (@975TheFanatic) March 21, 2023

CJ Gardner-Johnson has been on a bit of a tirade all off-season on Twitter. He would tweet something, then delete it, then tweet something else, but then delete it again. He has always had a reputation as someone who speaks his mind. And we saw his agency do the same when after there was much criticism of them for the deal they got CJ, they took to Twitter to defend themselves. He had a reputation in New Orleans for getting in trouble for instigating and taunting on the field. But he never caused any issues we know of while in Philly.

On the field, he was an incredibly important player for the Eagles. He was leading the league in interceptions before he got hurt. And was more than willing to make big hits or come up and play the run. Until they make a replacement move, if they do, we will not know if it was the right move to let him walk. But at least according to Jeff McLane, it may have had something to do with concerns over CJ Gardner-Johnson’s maturity.

"I don't want to say this was the right move because I don't know." – @Jeff_McLane on the Eagles letting Gardner-Johnson walk

— 975TheFanatic (@975TheFanatic) March 21, 2023

You can listen to the full conversation with Jeff McLane below…Follow the latest Eagles free agency news below…Tracking All The Eagles Free Agency NewsThe Eagles have a lot of free agents this off-season. Many of which are on their defense. A defense that was near the top of the league in every stat last season, could be looking very different in the next one. James Bradberry, Fletcher Cox, CJ Gardner Johnson, Brandon Graham, Kyzir White, TJ Edwards, Ndamukong Suh, Linval Joseph, Miles Sanders, and Isaac Seumalo, among other names. Then there is the news that Darius Slay was given permission to seek a trade. Not to mention we are awaiting to see whether Jason Kelce will retire or not. Meaning it could be a very busy free agency period for the Eagles. Even if the business is us watching all of the Eagles players go elsewhere.

The rumors have not been good for the Eagles. Multiple NFL insiders have suggested that nearly all of them could be heading elsewhere. So where will these Free agents land? Will any of them return to Philly? Or will the Eagles roster be left with more holes than a Shia Lebeauf movie? Legal Tampering has begun. Meaning we are starting to learn the news for the big names connected to the Eagles. Follow along here to see all the Eagles’ free agency news. From the players who return, the players who leave, and the new names heading the Philly.

The post Jeff McLane On Why The Eagles Didn’t Bring Back CJ Gardner-Johnson appeared first on 97.5 The Fanatic.