Eagles Rumors: PHI Has Made 'Strong Effort' to Re-Sign C.J. Gardner-Johnson

The Philadelphia Eagles are believed to have "made a strong effort to re-sign" C.J. Gardner-Johnson, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

The veteran safety is a free agent this offseason and figures to be highly in demand after intercepting six passes and recording 67 tackles in 12 games this past year.

Quickly sorting out Gardner-Johnson's future would allow the Eagles to turn their attention to James Bradberry, another key member of the secondary hitting the open market.

Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox ranked Gardner-Johnson and Bradberry third and fourth, respectively, on his big board of available free agents. Gardner-Johnson got the slight edge thanks in part to his positional versatility:

"Gardner-Johnson primarily played nickel with the New Orleans Saints, but he moved to safety after being traded to Philadelphia last year. He was great in both roles, allowing an opposing passer rating of 67.7 in 2021 and 78.4 this past season. He logged three interceptions in 2021 and a league-leading six interceptions (tied with Minkah Fitzpatrick and Justin Simmons) in 2022."

Retaining both is obviously the optimal outcome for Philadelphia, but the reigning NFC champion could see the pair walk as well.

Gardner-Johnson in particular may not be too keen on giving the Eagles any sort of hometown discount.

At 25, he's in the prime of his career, so his earning power could be at its apex. The 2019 fourth-round pick should be looking to cash out with a lucrative multiyear deal, and Philly might be limited in what it can offer since it has just $8.9 million in available salary-cap space, per Spotrac.

The Eagles will also want to account for how much an extension for Jalen Hurts will cost in 2024 and beyond.

Gardner-Johnson didn't explicitly write a goodbye message to Eagles fans on Tuesday, but he seemed to allude to his potential departure:

In general, Philadelphia is set up pretty well for an NFC title defense with a number of key players under contract.

The secondary is one area of the field where the team could look a lot different.