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C. J. Gardner-Johnson

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C.J. Gardner-Johnson
refer to caption
Gardner-Johnson with the Eagles in 2022
No. 23 – Philadelphia Eagles
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (1997-12-20) December 20, 1997 (age 26)
Cocoa, Florida
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school:Cocoa (FL)
College:Florida (2016–2018)
NFL draft:2019 / round: 4 / pick: 105
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 12, 2022
Total tackles:221
Sacks:4.0
Forced fumbles:1
Fumble recoveries:1
Pass deflections:36
Interceptions:11
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Chauncey "C.J." Gardner-Johnson (born December 10, 1997) is an American football safety for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He is known for his tenacity on the football field as a nickelback.

College career

As a true freshman at Florida, Gardner-Johnson appeared in all 14 games, making starts in the final 7 games of the season. During the 2017 Outback Bowl, Gardner-Johnson had 2 tackles and 2 interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown, he was named the MVP of the Outback bowl. During his sophomore season, Gardner-Johnson started in all 11 games. Before his junior season, Chauncey-Gardner was moved to the nickelback position.[1] On November 26, 2018, Gardner-Johnson announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility and declare for the 2019 NFL Draft.[2]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 10+7⁄8 in
(1.80 m) 		210 lb
(95 kg) 		30+7⁄8 in
(0.78 m) 		9+1⁄4 in
(0.23 m)		 4.48 s 4.20 s 7.03 s 36.0 in
(0.91 m)		 9 ft 9 in
(2.97 m)		 17 reps
All values from NFL Combine[3]

New Orleans Saints

2019

Gardner-Johnson was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round (105th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft.[4] In a Week 13 game against the Atlanta Falcons on Thanksgiving Day, Gardner-Johnson recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Matt Ryan in the 26–18 win.[5] In Week 16 against the Tennessee Titans, Gardner-Johnson recorded 8 tackles and forced a fumble on wide receiver Kalif Raymond which he recovered during the 38–28 win.[6]

2020

Gardner-Johnson in 2021

On October 11, 2020, Gardner-Johnson was punched by teammate Michael Thomas during practice. This led to Thomas being benched for that week's game.[7] On November 1, 2020, in a 26–23 victory over the Chicago Bears, Gardner-Johnson was sucker-punched by Bears' wide receiver Javon Wims which led to a scuffle between both teams in the third quarter. Wims ran up to an unsuspecting Gardner-Johnson, who had his back turned and punched him in the helmet. When Gardner-Johnson did not react, Wims punched him again. Earlier broadcast showed Gardner-Johnson ripping off Wims' mouthguard away from Wims. Despite Wims claiming Gardner-Johnson spit on him, no evidence supported this claim.[8] Gardner-Johnson later denied that he spit on Wims.[9] The incident led to Wims being ejected from the game and suspended for two games by the NFL the next day.[10][11] Gardner-Johnson was also fined $5,128 for his actions with Wims.[12]

In Week 10 against the San Francisco 49ers, Gardner-Johnson recorded his first career sack on quarterback Nick Mullens during the 27–13 win.[13][14] In Week 12 against the Denver Broncos, Gardner-Johnson intercepted a pass thrown by wide receiver Kendall Hinton during the 31–3 win.[15] Gardner-Johnson was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Saints on December 30, 2020,[16] and activated on January 8, 2021.[17]

On January 10, 2021, in the NFC Wildcard game against the Chicago Bears, Gardner-Johnson was involved in a scuffle with another Bears receiver, Anthony Miller. Miller was ejected for the fight while they both received unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.[18]

2021

Gardner-Johnson (#22) playing against the Washington Football Team in 2021.

Gardner-Johnson entered 2021 as a starting safety. He started seven games before being placed on injured reserve on November 13.[19] He was activated on December 11.[20] In a game at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 19, 2021, Gardner-Johnson intercepted Tom Brady's pass intended for Scotty Miller late in the game to close out the 9–0 shutout victory.[21]

Philadelphia Eagles

2022

On August 30, 2022, the Saints traded Gardner-Johnson along with a 2025 seventh-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for a fifth-round pick and the lower of their two sixth-round picks in the 2024 NFL Draft.[22]

Personal life

Gardner-Johnson was known as Chauncey Gardner Jr. in his first two seasons with Florida.[23] For his junior year, he changed the name on his jersey to Gardner-Johnson in honor of his stepfather, Brian Johnson. Gardner-Johnson's biological father, Chauncey Gardner Sr., has been a part of his life, but Johnson had raised Gardner-Johnson from the time he was a toddler.[24]

References

  1. ^ Young, Ryan (April 11, 2018). "New position, same swagger for Florida's Chauncey Gardner-Johnson". SEC Country. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  2. ^ Baker, Matt (November 26, 2018). "Florida Gators' Chauncey Gardner-Johnson declares for NFL draft". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  3. ^ "Chauncey Gardner-Johnson Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  4. ^ "Saints trade up in Round 4 to acquire Chauncey Gardner-Johnson". New Orleans Saints. April 27, 2019.
  5. ^ "Saints beat Falcons to clinch third straight NFC South title". www.espn.com. November 28, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  6. ^ "Saints chasing NFC's top seed rally to beat Titans 38-28". www.espn.com. Associated Press. December 22, 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  7. ^ Barna, Daniel. "Saints Wide Receiver Michael Thomas Benched After Physical Altercation With Teammates". Complex. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  8. ^ Goldberg, Rob. "Report: Javon Wims Told Bears That Gardner-Johnson Spit on Him Before Punches". Bleacher Report. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  9. ^ Owens, Jason. "Bears' Javon Wims suspended 2 games for punch, C.J. Gardner-Johnson denies he spit on him". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  10. ^ Patra, Kevin. "Bears WR Javon Wims suspended two games for punching Saints DB". NFL.com. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  11. ^ Triplett, Mike (November 2, 2020). "NFL suspends Wims; Saints DB denies spitting". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  12. ^ Williams, Charean (November 7, 2020). "Chauncey Gardner-Johnson fined $5,128 for tiff with Javon Wims". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  13. ^ Sigler, John (November 19, 2020). "C.J. Gardner-Johnson had the fastest sack in the NFL in Week 10". Saints Wire. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  14. ^ "San Francisco 49ers at New Orleans Saints - November 15th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  15. ^ "New Orleans Saints at Denver Broncos - November 29th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  16. ^ Triplett, Mike (December 30, 2020). "Saints safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson placed on reserve/COVID-19 list". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  17. ^ Simmons, Myles (January 8, 2021). "Saints activate C.J. Gardner-Johnson off COVID-19 list". NBCSports.com. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  18. ^ "Wild Card - Chicago Bears at New Orleans Saints - January 10th, 2021". Pro-football-Reference. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  19. ^ "New Orleans Saints DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson heads to injured reserve, creating sizable hole on defense". CanalStreetChronicles.com. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  20. ^ "C.J. Gardner-Johnson designated to return from Saints injured reserve". usatoday.com. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  21. ^ "Saints frustrate Brady again, beat SB champ Buccaneers 9-0".
  22. ^ Spadaro, Dave (August 30, 2022). "Eagles agree to acquire S Chauncey Gardner-Johnson from Saints". philadelphiaeagles.com. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  23. ^ "Gardner MVP as Florida wins Outback Bowl". floridatoday.com. January 2, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2020. Former Cocoa High star Chauncey Gardner Jr., returned one of his two fourth-quarter interceptions 58 yards for a touchdown
  24. ^ Abolverdi, Zach (March 13, 2018). "New name, same position for Florida DB Chauncey Gardner-Johnson". seccountry.com. Archived from the original on March 14, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018 – via Wayback Machine.
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