However, a mistake in his contract negotiations with the Eagles and his agent may have cost him millions in contract money and a chance to return to his former team.
Reports indicate that the Eagles had initially offered Gardner-Johnson a multi-year contract at the start of free agency.
However, he and his agent declined the offer, hoping to secure a better deal elsewhere.
By the time Gardner-Johnson realized he had misjudged the market, the Eagles had moved on to other priorities, such as re-signing cornerback James Bradberry and working out a new deal with cornerback Darius Slay.
Despite already having signed Bradberry and extended Slay, the Eagles were still interested in bringing Gardner-Johnson back to Philadelphia.
I'm told the Eagles did indeed make an offer at the start of free agency, but it wasn't what C.J. wanted, and he turned it down, and by the time he realized he had misjudged the market, the Eagles had moved onto other priorities. So he signed for less with Detroit.
— Reuben Frank (@RoobNBCS) March 20, 2023
Gardner-Johnson eventually signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Detroit Lions, which was likely less than what he had hoped for. It is possible that other teams may have offered him more on a long-term deal than what he ultimately accepted from the Lions.
Gardner-Johnson's behavior on social media likely did not help his negotiations.
In particular, he engaged in a Twitter argument with former Kansas City wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster after Super Bowl LVII. He also criticized his former coordinator, Jonathan Gannon, who is now the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, for not putting his players in a position to win.
Finally, he expressed dissatisfaction with what he believed to be inadequate contract offers by posting "The disrespect real!" Publicly criticizing coaches and negotiating through social media is obviously not looked upon favorably by teams.
Regardless of what happened, the Eagles let a PB caliber safety walk for what they are paying the backup QB. This one hurts
— Don Gregg (@libe613) March 20, 2023
Another factor that may have affected Gardner-Johnson's market value was the fact that he had missed 10 games over the past two seasons. Despite this, Gardner-Johnson recorded six interceptions in 12 games and was considered one of the top free agents available this year.
It is not uncommon for top free agents to want more than what the market will bear and eventually settle for something far less than they wanted on a one-year deal.
However, Gardner-Johnson's missteps in his negotiations may have ultimately cost him a better contract and a chance to return to the Eagles. Photo Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
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