The Philadelphia Eagles are hoping to bounce back from their crushing Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, but they will have a tall task on their hands considering how they will be taking on the red-hot New Orleans Saints in Week 3. For safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, this will be a revenge game of sorts, that is, of course, assuming he can take the field for this game.
Gardner-Johnson is dealing with a foot injury that has resulted in him being questionable to play in this game. He is going to test his foot and see how it feels during warmups, but the Eagles are optimistic that he will be able to suit up against his former team in the Saints and help his current team get back on the right track after their Week 2 loss.
Via Jeremy Fowler:
“Eagles plan to work out safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (questionable, foot) pregame, but there’s optimism about his availability vs. Saints, per sources. Gardner-Johnson was a Saints DB from 2018-21 and could get his first crack against them.”
Eagles need C.J. Gardner-Johnson on the field against the Saints

Gardner-Johnson has emerged as a key contributor in the Eagles secondary, and he made one of the plays in the game against the Falcons when he delivered a huge hit on Bijan Robinson that prevented him from picking up a first down on 4th-and-1. Unfortunately, it didn't end up leading to a win for the Eagles like he had hoped it would.
The Saints passing attack has been picking teams apart early on in the new season, and in order for the Eagles to slow them down, they are going to need Gardner-Johnson on the field for them. Thankfully, the optimism surrounding his injury status ended up coming to fruition, as he is active for Philly's big game.
#Eagles DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson will be active today vs. his former #Saints team despite dealing with a foot injury. pic.twitter.com/oJYi12ZS0l
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) September 22, 2024
With Gardner-Johnson holding down the backend of the Eagles defense, they will have a decent shot of locking up the Saints explosive aerial attack. And if Philly can slow down New Orleans, they will have a very good shot of bouncing back in Week 3 and picking up a victory after throwing away a win against Atlanta last week.