Eagles' best internal options to replace C.J. Gardner-Johnson

The Eagles on Tuesday made a surprising move by trading veteran safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Texans.

This was not a popular decision for obvious reasons. Gardner-Johnson has become a fan favorite and just won a Super Bowl and the return of Kenyon Green (and a pick swap) isn’t very good.

But this was one of those tough decisions that teams sometimes have to make. The Eagles have already paid top dollar for a lot of their core players and have big extensions to hand out (like Cam Jurgens, Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith) over the next couple of years. That sounds like the reason the Eagles gave Gardner-Johnson too (NSFW).

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CJ Gardner Johnson said it’s all love they just gotta pay the young boys!!

He also shouted out all the FA on the full video including Darius Slay and called him a legend #Eagles pic.twitter.com/QjmKt5uBPo

— Philly Talk Podcast (@Philly_Mike25) March 11, 2025

Of course, the Eagles could have prioritized Gardner-Johnson, but they didn’t. It remains to be seen if that was a wise decision or not. But when Howie Roseman said last month that everything they do is going to have to be taken away from somewhere else, this is what he meant.

The trade of CJGJ leaves another starting position in the Eagles’ secondary open. The Eagles bring back Reed Blankenship, who is due for an extension himself, but they have to find a starting safety to plug in next to him. There are still free agents out there and there’s the draft next month. And Roseman will tell you that the talent acquisition phase goes all the way through the trade deadline. Heck, in 2022, the Eagles didn’t even trade for Gardner-Johnson until right before the season began. So there’s a long time to find his replacement.

But there has obviously been a push within the organization to play more young players and the Eagles have a few at safety who could end up being a starter in 2024.

Let’s take a look at their best internal options:

Sydney Brown

There’s no doubt Brown is the guy at the top of the list. The 2023 third-round pick out of Illinois will turn 25 later this month and hasn’t yet been able to carve out a prominent and consistent role on defense as he enters his third NFL season. But the Eagles were very high on Brown when they drafted him a couple years ago and they still have a lot of faith in him. During the 2023 draft, Brown was a “red-star player” — a player that exemplifies what it means to be an Eagle.

In the wake of the Gardner-Johnson trade, one thing I heard was that this would give Brown a chance to compete for a starting job.

“Sydney Brown was a passion player for a lot of people in this organization,” Roseman said after the Eagles took Brown with the No. 66 pick in 2023. “He was a red-star guy. And I think just a tremendous person with obviously really good athletic tools, leadership ability, and for us, just excited to get him in the building.”

As a rookie, Brown showed some encouraging signs. He played in 14 games and started 6. He played 335 defensive snaps that year and showed off his versatility. Per PFF, here’s how his snaps broke down that year:

Slot corner: 141

Free safety: 137

In the box: 54

Other: 3

During that season, Brown had 45 tackles, 3 pass breakups and he returned an interception 99 yards for a touchdown in Week 17 against the Cardinals. It wasn’t all good, though. He missed 5 tackles and in coverage gave up 21 catches on 24 targets for 211 yards with 2 touchdowns, 1 INT and 1 PBU. But Brown showed promise, which is why it was a shame to see him tear his ACL in the regular season finale in 2023.

That injury meant Brown missed all spring and training camp and then began the 2024 season on the PUP list for the first five games. That was likely the reason he was buried on the depth chart last season behind the two starters, Tristin McCollum and Avonte Maddox. Brown played just 79 defensive snaps in Year 2. He did carve out a major role on special teams and was one of Michael Clay’s better players in 2024.

But Brown wants to play defense and with a full offseason and training camp, he’ll at least get his opportunity to prove himself to defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Brown plays the game with his hair on fire, which can lead to some electric plays but also some misses. We see his big-hitting style on special teams and he would be fun to watch on defensive. But he might need to rein it in a bit too.

Tristin McCollum

McCollum, who will turn 26 in May, was initially signed by the Texans as an undrafted rookie out of Sam Houston State in 2022 and spent that season on their practice squad. After the 2022 regular season, the Eagles signed McCollum to a futures deal. He had a good camp in 2023 but was cut and began that season on the practice squad. He played in 3 games his first year with the Eagles.

But then McCollum had a strong training camp again in 2024 and made the 53-man roster as a backup safety and special teamer. Not only did he make the team, but McCollum was the Eagles’ top backup safety behind Blankenship and Gardner-Johnson to start the season. He even made his first career start in place of Blankenship (concussion) against the Panthers in Week 14. McCollum had three missed tackles in that game, per PFF.

By the end of the season, though, McCollum had lost that top backup safety role to the veteran Maddox, who began the season as the Eagles’ starting nickel before being demoted in favor of Cooper DeJean. McCollum remained behind Maddox on the depth chart for the playoffs too.

Lewis Cine

Cine, 25, is probably the most intriguing name on the list. The Eagles signed him off the Bills’ practice squad in January and kept him on their 53-man roster for the remainder of the playoffs with the goal to get a closer look at him this upcoming offseason and summer.

The former Georgia Bulldog was a first-round pick (No. 32 to the Vikings) back in the 2022 draft but his NFL career has not gone to plan. In three NFL seasons, Cine has appeared in just 11 games without a single start. He has just 10 defensive snaps and 134 special teams snaps under his belt.

In Week 4 of his rookie season, Cine suffered a significant compound leg fracture that required surgery and knocked him out the rest of the season. An injury like that can derail a career. When Cine got to Philly in January, he said he felt great health-wise and his X-rays were good. He also didn’t seem very surprised to end up in Philly.

“Honestly, I felt like Philly has been a big fan of me and I’ve been a big fan of Philly,” Cine said in January. “It’s just that I felt like timing certain things weren’t probably aligned and then everything just clicked and here I am.”

Andre’ Sam

While he’s a long shot, Sam is the only other safety currently on the Eagles roster. He was signed by the Eagles last offseason as a UDFA out of LSU and spent the entire 2024 season on the practice squad. He was elevated for that Carolina game when Blankenship was out with a concussion but didn’t play on defense. He filled in on some special teams snaps. Sam turned 26 on Super Bowl Sunday; it was his birthday in addition to Saquon Barkley’s and DeJean’s.

Cooper DeJean

Before you yell at me for including DeJean, I’m not saying the Eagles should do this. Just pointing out DeJean’s versatility and saying that he could play safety if the Eagles really needed him to. When the Eagles drafted DeJean in the second round they called him a defensive back for a reason. Of course, DeJean was so good as the Eagles’ nickel corner during his rookie season that putting him back at safety would not be an ideal move. But in a pinch, he could likely play there if the Eagles end up with more depth at nickel than safety.

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