The Eagles are trading veteran safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans for former first-round offensive guard Kenyon Green, a league source confirmed to NBC Sports Philadelphia.
In addition to the players, the deal also involves a 2026 pick-swap, the source said.
Here are the terms of the trade:
Eagles get: Kenyon Green, 5th round pick in 2026
Texans get: C.J. Gardner-Johnson, 6th round pick in 2026
The Eagles are trading the 27-year-old Gardner-Johnson just one year after bringing him back to the team on a three-year deal in free agency. Gardner-Johnson has played for the Eagles in two seasons and they have gone to the Super Bowl twice. He has 12 interceptions in those two seasons.
Green, 23, was the No. 15 overall pick back in the 2022 draft but his NFL career hasn’t gone to plan. After starting 14 games as a rookie, Green missed the entire 2023 season with a shoulder injury. In 2024, Green was benched in October. He ended up playing in 12 games with 9 starts. PFF ranked him as the No. 76 best guard in the NFL out of 77 qualified players.
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Green has played only left guard in the NFL and the Eagles have Pro Bowler Landon Dickerson at that spot. So perhaps we see him get some time at right guard, where there’s an opening. The Eagles’ 2024 starter, Mekhi Becton, is a free agent. The Eagles also have 2023 third-round pick Tyler Steen on the roster.
This move won’t save the Eagles much cap room in 2025 but will free up some money for the team to continue to keep its core together long-term.
Without Gardner-Johnson, the Eagles’ top in-house options to start next to Reed Blankenship are Sydney Brown, Tristin McCollum or perhaps even Lewis Cine. Brown was a 2023 third-round pick who hasn’t really been able to carve out a big role on defense. There’s also several months before the opener, so it’s possible the Eagles could add another safety.
(More coming…)
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