The Philadelphia Eagles just won the Super Bowl, but they can’t seem to stay away from drama.
With the chemistry of a high school science experiment gone wrong, the Eagles seem to be highly combustible, even in the shadow of a championship.
The latest drama occurred on Thursday when C.J. Gardner-Johnson took offense to comments made by a defender who just got cut, and it could show the state of the secondary as Philadelphia heads into next season.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson Takes Offense to Darius Slay’s Comments About Eagles Secondary
Darius Slay was released by the Eagles earlier this week and took to his “Big Play Slay” podcast to gather his thoughts. While he kept the door open for a return to the team, Slay made comments about who would lead the Eagles secondary now that he’s gone and centered his remarks around safety Reed Blankenship.
“Reed being around me and a lot of veterans before, I’m sure he could lead that group the right way,” Slay said. “That’s who I feel would be leading the group if I ain’t in the building. He’s a great damn leader. If they brought in another veteran who has played a lot, they could be a leader. But for sure, if I’m not in that room, Reed Blankenship will be a great one.”
These comments seemed harmless until they made their way to Gardner-Johnson. After two different stints with the Eagles in 2022 and 2024, Gardner-Johnson believed that Slay’s comments were a slight towards him, leading to comments on his X account.
“You would think feelings would be mutual after a great season but ….. Aye twin keep that s*** solid.” Gardner-Johnson wrote.
You would think feelings would be mutual after a great season but …… aye twin keep that shit solid pic.twitter.com/KLVqJnJAO6
— C.J. Gardner-Johnson (@CGJXXIII) March 5, 2025
Slay tried to defuse the situation with a response on his X account, stating that he didn’t have a problem with Gardner-Johnson and that he made the comments because Blankenship was on the team’s leadership council. But that led to two more posts by Johnson that have since been deleted.
“Vet presence is always needed don’t get me wrong,” Gardner-Johnson wrote. “But bro what “vet” is needed when young guys can hold their own [Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean] and you got a crazy duo with Reed and me?! And the supporting cast (Ringo, Zay, Andre Sam, Eli, Sydney Tristin) stay with the youth u ask me."
“Last vet that replaced me helped y'all get to the door in the wildcard round (100 emoji) REMEMBER THAT!!!”
— Word On The Birds (@WordOnTheBirds) March 6, 2025
Gardner-Johnson later said it wasn’t “a crash out” and “was keeping it real” but it feels like Slay’s window to return to the Eagles may have slammed shut. Then again, the Eagles won a championship in a volatile fashion last season, so there could be an easy way to make it up if the two sides agree to a reunion.