The Philadelphia Eagles have parted ways with 2 members of their secondary in the last month who most teams would die for with safety C.J. Gardner Johnson and cornerback Darius Slay. Both players were front and center as the Eagles made their run to winning Super Bowl LIX on February 9 with a dominant defensive performance against the Kansas City Chiefs
The reasoning behind letting Slay go to the Pittsburgh Steelers on a 1-year, $10 million free agent contract isn’t complicated. The Eagles have arguably the NFL’s 2 best young cornerbacks in Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. Both were starters as rookies in 2024 and considered foundational players moving forward.
With Gardner-Johnson, it’s a little more complicated. The Eagles traded him to the Houston Texans via a trade on March 11, along with a sixth round pick in the 2026 NFL draft in exchange for former first round pick and offensive guard Kenyon Green and a 2025 fifth round pick.
While the Eagles might make a move to add a safety in the 2025 NFL draft to grow with Mitchell and DeJean and de-age the secondary, so to speak, the Eagles might still consider a veteran safety on a 1-year contract to provide depth.
One player Philadelphia should consider in a “Washed Or Not?” scenario is former Baltimore Ravens safety Marcus Williams, who was designated a post-June 1 release on March 12.