Howie Roseman is in Arizona for the NFL Owners Meetings, and the Eagles GM clarified the contract negotiations that led to C.J. Gardner-Johnson signing with Detroit.
The talented safety made have overvalued his market in free agency and reportedly turned down a backloaded deal from Philadelphia, prompting Howie Roseman to go another direction.
That move was signing cornerback Darius Slay to a two-year, $42 million contract extension.
On Monday, Roseman admitted that the Eagles were working to sign Gardner-Johnson, but eventually pivoted in another direction.
Howie Roseman on the #Eagles' dealings with safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson in free agency:
"We were very clear that at some point we were going to have to go in a different direction. In those first couple days, we tried and then we pivoted."
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) March 27, 2023
A talented and versatile safety, Gardner-Johnson signed a one-year deal with the Lions, and Howie Roseman had a number in his head that he had no intentions of going over.