"DELATRON JOHNSON CARRIED the worry of a mother watching her child struggle. It was early October, and her son, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, had just been released from the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad. The highs of winning Super Bowl LIX eight months earlier felt like they happened in another lifetime. It was the defensive back's second stint with the Philadelphia Eagles, who beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22, to win the Lombardi Trophy."
""Your mental is f---ed up when ball is taken away," Gardner-Johnson recently told ESPN. "We're guys. We're taught to be tough and strong and courageous from 10 years old to however long you play football, so you never really have a chance to sit back and think. "Me sitting at home, I had to really look myself in the mirror. And it's like, it's really on me.""
"One month after the Super Bowl, the Eagles traded Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans, a move widely seen as a salary-cap dump after he signed a three-year, $27 million contract in March 2024. Speaking on "The Pivot" podcast, Gardner-Johnson claimed the Eagles traded him because they were "scared of a competitor." He cited his ejection from a December 2024 game against the Washington Commanders and also being blamed for instigating a fight in a postseason practice."
Delatron Johnson watched her son, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, struggle after he was released from the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad following a Super Bowl-winning season. Gardner-Johnson described significant mental strain when football was taken away, saying players are conditioned to be tough and rarely pause to reflect, which forced him to confront himself. One month after the Super Bowl the Eagles traded him to the Houston Texans in a move widely seen as a salary-cap dump despite a recent three-year, $27 million contract. Gardner-Johnson suggested the trade was motivated by fear of a competitor and pointed to an ejection and blame for a practice fight.
Read at ESPN.com
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