During the 2022 offseason, one of the areas that the Philadelphia Eagles pinpointed as needing to upgrade was the secondary. They had acquired Darius Slay from the Detroit Lions ahead of the 2020 season, but he needed some more help. So far so good when it comes to the moves that were made as the Eagles revamped things at cornerback and safety and they have paid off.

After being released by the New York Giants because of salary cap issues, cornerback James Bradberry joined the Eagles, giving them the best duo at the position along with Slay. But, they were not done there, as Philadelphia also made an upgrade at the safety spot.

Facing some salary issues of their own and knowing they would have some tough decisions to make, the New Orleans Saints decided to trade C.J. Gardner-Johnson. The Eagles acquired him in August and he has been a nice upgrade for the team.

Gardner-Johnson was acquired along with a seventh-round pick in exchange for a fifth-round pick in 2023 and a fourth-round pick in 2024. He is in the midst of a career season for the Eagles, doing a little bit of everything and becoming a major playmaker.

In 11 games, Gardner-Johnson has a team-high six interceptions, which is also leading the NFL. He has added eight passes defended, one sack, 60 combined tackles, four tackles for loss and two quarterback hits.

The former fourth-round pick out of Florida has been extremely productive for the Eagles, but unfortunately for them, they are going to be without him for an indefinite period of time. Gardner-Johnson was forced from the game this past weekend against the Green Bay Packers and he has been diagnosed with a lacerated kidney.

The one positive is that the injury won’t require surgery. But, testing is still being done to see the extent of the damage and then a timetable for his return can be figured out. Luckily for Gardner-Johnson and the Eagles, the injury isn’t expected to be season-ending.

Without him in the lineup, undrafted rookie Reed Blankenship was inserted into the lineup. He was excellent in his place, totaling six tackles with one pass defended and the first interception of his career coming against future Hall of Famer, Aaron Rodgers.

Blankenship looks like he will have the first shot at replacing Gardner-Johnson in the lineup for as long as he is sidelined. K’Von Wallace and Andre Chachere are also on the team’s depth chart at the safety position.