When the Philadelphia Eagles traded CJ Gardner-Johnson and a 2026 sixth-round pick to the Houston Texans for Kenyon Green and a 2026 fifth-round pick, it turned heads in the City of Brotherly Love.
Why did the Eagles say goodbye to one of their best safeties in recent memory, one who made plays in the team's last two Super Bowl appearances no less, for one of the worst-rated guards in the NFL according to PFF and a slight move up the draft board next year? Was it truly for financial purposes, as some reporters in the know have suggested? Or does Howie Roseman have something else up his sleeves?
Well, in a recent appearance on Talkin' Ball with Pat Leonard, former All-Pro safety Justin Simmons had some very nice things to say about his former head coach and defensive backs coach, noting that playing in Philadelphia would be “high on his list” heading into 2025.
“Having a chance to reunite with Vic and then also the defensive backs coach Christian Parker, he's over there. I worked with him the last four years in Denver, and he was a huge piece of – obviously, there are a lot of rotating coaches and defensive coordinators, but he was a huge piece of the stability year-in and year-out. The terminology, the practices, there was a lot of familiarity with him. So there's a lot of good things about Philly,” Simmons noted.
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“Obviously their offense is clearly one of the best in the league, their offensive line is unbelieveable but what that defense did this past season to go win that Super Bowl is crazy. Like watching those guys operate, you could tell the leadership there top down is by far one of the best in the league, so to have an opportunity to go play in Philly, especially reuniting with Vic and CP like we just talked about, is high on the list.”
Whoa, could Roseman actually thread the needle? Could the Eagles get off of CJGJ's long-term money, get a slightly better draft pick, and still walk away with an upgrade in his defensive backfield from 2024 to 2025? Would Fangio be down to get back one of his true success stories in this his first-ever Super Bowl defense? While only time will tell, it certainly feels like things are trending in that direction, which is great because a Simmons-Fangio reunion in South Philadelphia would greatly turn around the mood in the City of Brotherly Love.
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