PHILADELPHIA — There are a certain set of ground rules C.J. Gardner-Johnson has when he’s asked questions. Like the ol’ Hakuna Matata motto, the past is behind him.
“I’m not talking about nothing about the past, no trades, nothing about what’s going on now,” Gardner-Johnson said Sunday. “Simple. Right now, feeling our team is getting better. Not worried about what happened last year. New team, new year. New roster, new yearbook. So we are focusing on getting better day by day. We are just understanding who we are.
“We go out there and compete. Our main goal is to compete for a Super Bowl.”
Gardner-Johnson isn’t one to talk in a press conference setting much. He rather keep his words on the field, talking to his teammates and holding himself accountable for what’s going on. That’s the player Gardner-Johnson presents every day, the player the Philadelphia Eagles brought back this offseason after a year with the Detroit Lions.
“I’m a winner,” Gardner-Johnson said. “Everybody understands about winning. Regardless what you can pull up stat wise, rating wise, I’m always on the winning side of football. Regardless whether I’m in the NFC Championship, playoff game, division championship game, you look at the course of my career I’m gonna bring a winning attitude.
“I think my teammates understand that. I won’t settle for less. If we can’t win, what we good for?”
The Eagles certainly missed what Gardner-Johnson brought to the table last year. Gardner-Johnson’s voice can be heard throughout a practice session, whether he’s trash-talking a receiver or communicating to the defense after a play isn’t executed, his presence is felt.
Just because practice is over doesn’t mean Gardner-Johnson is going to flip the switch either.
“No filter. I don’t care how you all feel. I don’t care how you feel, you feel, you feel,” Gardner-Johnson said as he pointed to multiple reporters. “I’m here to win. I’m here to hold my teammates accountable and hold myself accountable. I get donned on for saying little things.
“If y’all wasn’t hating on me, then I ain’t doing my job. So I’m glad that’s why I get a lot of hate and a lot of critics.”
The last time Gardner-Johnson took the field in an Eagles uniform, he was leveling Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LVII. The Eagles and Gardner-Johnson couldn’t come to terms on an extension in free agency of the 2023 offseason, so they pivoted toward retaining other members of the secondary.
The pass defense fell to the bottom of the NFL, missing what Gardner-Johnson brought to the table in the one year he was here. The defense has that edge back.
“[He] just brings an element of toughness to this football team. He has relentless effort, right? He does do a great job of tackling and defeating blocks,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said. “And then he plays his butt off and plays hard. I love that we have him back.
“I don’t think it’s any secret I’m a huge fan of Chauncey and the things he brings to our football team because it represents a lot of things we want to be about here. He’s a great teammate and look forward to continuing to see him grow as a player.”
Gardner-Johnson doesn’t mind getting his flowers. Wins are more important, no matter what the narrative is about him.
“I’m just resembling the same shit that you see on the field and practice and the meeting room,” Gardner-Johnson said. “I’m not gonna change. Y’all want me to be this.
“Put this. Put winner behind my name, competitor, and passionate player before you say anything else.”
No worries. Problem-free philosophy.
