The Philadelphia Eagles sent shockwaves through the NFL once more on Tuesday night when the signing of Chauncey Gardner-Johnson was confirmed. The veteran Safety is returning to Philly on a 3-year deal following a short stint in Detroit, and his first port of call was to apologize to Eagles fans.
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson apologizes to Eagles fans for comments made after his tenure
CJGJ was only in Philadelphia for one season, but his impact was huge. A career-year helped spur the Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance and that game could’ve been oh-so different if a few other dominos had fallen differently. With that said, many fans wanted Chauncey Gardner-Johnson to return if the price was right, and it was clear he wanted to come back to. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen and he signed with Detroit.
Before the next season started, the decorated DB answered a fan’s donation question on Twitch. The fan wanted to know Chauncey’s least favorite thing about Philly, and his response was…surprising:
‘The people’ he said. f****** obnoxious, I f****** can’t stand the f******”. Whatever animosity he had in his heart for the City has hopefully been eased, with a 3-year deal committing his mid-term future to Philadelphia.
Gardner-Johnson was obviously aware of his comments and how they might not have sat too well, quickly taken to Twitter to say the following.
Well, that’s all anyone could ask for. It would be understandable for that comment to contain more venom than is actually there if Gardner-Johnson did want to return to Philly and wasn’t able to. He could well have been bitter about it. Regardless, the fact he took ownership is huge.
The truth is, CJGJ wasn’t exactly wrong. People from Philly are obnoxious and they embrace it. However, many players have folded under the pressures of the City of Brotherly Love, and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson was certainly not one of them. He stood up, owned his comments, and is ready to move on and succeed in a place he now calls home. That’s the kind of maturity and awareness this team really needs.
All the Eagles and their fans could ever ask of a player is to give their all to the team. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson did exactly that during his time here, and so long as he’s able to
Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire
