When the Philadelphia Eagles shocked their fanbase with the trade of starting safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, not everyone was on board with the move.
Thanks to Gardner-Johnson's toughness and grit, Philadelphia's defense was one of the most feared in the league last year and was ranked as the top overall unit on their way to a Super Bowl title.
The issue for the Eagles, though, was a looming cap crunch with so many young players to re-sign, and additional players to pay. It's why while the team shipped Gardner-Johnson to Houston, they remained vigilant in the free agent market.
Philadelphia was rumored to have interest in former Kansas City Chiefs star safety Jordan Reid. On the "Up and Adams Show" with Kay Adams, the 28-year-old safety detailed how much interest the Eagles actually had.
"It was just because me and the defensive backs coach [Christian Parker] there have a really good relationship," Reid said. "The defensive system was the same defensive system I ran at Stanford – that whole Vic Fangio system – I know it pretty well.
"The conversations were pretty intense. The only drawback was they were just so limited in cap space that we couldn't make a deal that made sense. But the situation, the conversation was happening."
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For Philadelphia to actually have interest in Reid - who goes to the Saints as they win an apparent bidding war here - is an important distinction for fans who remain perplexed with the Gardner-Johnson trade.
It shows that the Eagles will remain vigilant in the safety market and are always looking for quick fixes to help their team win.
It could also be a simple tease that the Eagles may just draft a safety early in the 2025 Draft with most of their other needs secure. While it's not a position the team has normally focused on, if they can sign runningbacks and linebackers to lucrative deals recently, they may just change their mind on the safety market as well.
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This story was originally published March 17, 2025 at 3:19 PM.