Gardner-Johnson out indefinitely
Safety suffered lacerated kidney, but could still return this season
Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson suffered a lacerated kidney that will sideline him indefinitely, according to a league source who confirmed an NFL Network report.
The report suggested the injury is not expected to be season-ending and should not require surgery. Gardner-Johnson suffered the injury during the Eagles’ win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night, colliding with fellow safety Marcus Epps and collapsing to the ground shortly after that. Gardner-Johnson was carted off after struggling to walk on his own, clearly in a significant amount of pain.
The Eagles traded for Gardner-Johnson, 24, just before the start of the regular season and have gotten elite play from the former New Orleans Saints defensive back. His six interceptions lead the NFL and he has logged eight pass breakups as well.
Gardner-Johnson is still undergoing tests and doesn’t have a timetable for his return yet. There are a few recent examples of players that would suggest the recovery timeline varies.
Eagles tight end Zach Ertz dealt with a
similar injury during the 2019 season and missed one week before returning for the team’s wildcard loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Ertz’s quick return is the outlier, though. Former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck missed six weeks with a lacerated kidney and a partial tear of his abdominal muscle in 2015.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said Monday that the team was hopeful Gardner-Johnson wouldn’t need to go on injured reserve. If he is placed on IR, he’ll miss at least four games before being eligible to return to practice.
Safety was arguably the thinnest spot on the Eagles roster going into the season, even after the team sent two Day 3 picks to the New Orleans Saints for Gardner-Johnson. The team used undrafted rookie Reed Blankenship in Gardner-Johnson’s place against the Packers and the former Middle Tennessee State standout exceeded expectations for his first meaningful time in the defense. Blankenship had a pivotal interception in the second quarter and six tackles.
“I know that my name was going to get called eventually, it’s a long season,” Blankenship said after the 40-33 win. “But I was ready for it, I was prepared for it and went in confident. I have guys in the room that are mature and I just learned from them everyday.”
The Eagles secondary was already without starting slot cornerback Avonte Maddox, who suffered a hamstring injury that landed him on injured reserve just before the Eagles’ Week 10 loss to the Washington Commanders. Maddox is eligible to return to practice after this Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans, but his timetable is unclear.
Josiah Scott has filled in at slot corner in Maddox’s absence. He also had an interception against Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, his coming off a deflection from Darius Slay on Green Bay’s opening drive.
“They’re tough, they’re smart, they have talent, and so you have that faith in them,” Sirianni said of the Scott and Blankenship. “You have that faith in them that they’re going to go out and perform and do the things they need to do to help us win. I think Josiah was able to do that at times last year for us, so we’ve seen that. He was also great on special teams for us all last year, and continuing into this year.”
“Sometimes you don’t get to see that live unless it is on special teams,” he added. “Every time Reed has had an opportunity to play and perform, he’s done a really good job.”