Coach Sirianni gives an update on C.J. Gardner-Johnson. #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/WXhOdyF1hE
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 26, 2022
Will the New Orleans Saints see a familiar face on the opposing team in their Week 17 game with the Philadelphia Eagles? Don’t count on it. C.J. Gardner-Johnson levelled up after the Saints traded him to Philadelphia on the eve of the 2022 season, successfully transitioning to a full-time role at safety after covering the slot for New Orleans, but an abdominal injury has put him out of action.
It’s reportedly similar to what Marshon Lattimore has been dealing with — a lacerated kidney and damaged ribs, though the extent of Gardner-Johnson’s injuries remain unclear. As is his recovery timeline. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni shared a brief update on Gardner-Johnson’s status early this week.
“First of all we have to see how everything is healing in there. And that’s a little bit harder to track, right?” Siranni told local media on Monday, continuing, “Because you can’t just — you’ve got to go in there and see, right? You’ve got the CAT scans and everything you can do to see everything in there. We’ll see. We’ll see where he is.”
That’s not exactly encouraging. For now, Gardner-Johnson remains on the Eagles’ injured reserve list. He has not been designated to return and, though he should be eligible to play this week after sitting out four weeks, it doesn’t sound like that is in the cards based off Sirianni’s comments. As has been the case for Lattimore, this is looking like a week-to-week situation.
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