Two free agent developments on Thursday evening that are relevant to the Philadelphia Eagles:
- S C.J .Gardner-Johnson signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the Buffalo Bills.
- TE Kylen Granson signed a one-year contract with the Tennessee Titans.
Let’s sort through this news on a player-by-player basis.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson
With Reed Blankenship leaving in free agency, the Eagles need a new starting safety. There were some calls to bring CJGJ back to Philly. After all, they’ve never not went to the Super Bowl when he’s been on their roster!
Re-signing the play-making defensive back never seemed likely to me. He’s obviously a talented player. But it’s more than just a coincidence that a team employing him has decided to move on from him seven times since the beginning of 2022 (Saints, Eagles, Lions, Eagles again, Texans, Ravens, Bears).
The Bears were in need of safety help this offseason with CJGJ, Jaquan Brisker, and Kevin Byard all set to be free agents. Chicago opted to pay Coby Bryant (three years, $40 millon) and Cam Lewis instead of retaining CJGJ.
We’ll see if he can help the Bills. Or if he even lasts there. He only made it three games with the Texans before getting cut last season. And then Houston went 13-3 the rest of the way while boasting one of the NFL’s best defenses after their 0-3 start.
Kylen Granson
The Eagles signed Granson in free agency last offseason to compete for a backup tight end job. He ended up logging the third-most offensive snaps of any player at his position in 2025, finishing behind Dallas Goedert and Grant Calcaterra. His nine targets resulted in just seven catches for 40 yards (a very low 5.7 average).
Granson also played the fourth-most special teams snaps and finished tied for the team-lead in special teams tackles.
Granson was a cromulent player for TE3 standards but hardly a must-keep option.