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Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson suffered a lacerated kidney that will sideline him indefinitely, according to a league source who confirmed an NFL Network report.
The report suggested the injury is not expected to be season-ending and should not require surgery. Gardner-Johnson suffered the injury during the Eagles’ win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night, colliding with fellow safety Marcus Epps and collapsing to the ground shortly thereafter. Gardner-Johnson was carted off after struggling to walk on his own power, clearly in a significant amount of pain.,
Gardner-Johnson is still undergoing tests and doesn’t have a timetable for his return yet. There are a few recent examples of players that would suggest the recovery timeline varies.
Eagles tight end Zach Ertz dealt with a similar injury during the 2019 season and missed one week before returning for the team’s wildcard loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Ertz’s quick return is the outlier, though. Former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck missed six weeks with a lacerated kidney and a partial tear of his abdominal muscle in 2015.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said Monday that the team was hopeful Gardner-Johnson wouldn’t need to go on injured reserve. If he is placed on IR, he’ll miss at least four games before being eligible to return to practice.
Safety was arguably the thinnest spot on the Eagles roster going into the season, even after the team sent two Day 3 picks to the New Orleans Saints for Gardner-Johnson. The team used undrafted rookie Reed Blankenship in Gardner-Johnson’s place against the Packers and the former Middle Tennessee State standout exceeded expectations for his first meaningful time in the defense. Blankenship had a pivotal interception in the second quarter and had six total tackles.
“I know that my name was going to get called eventually, it’s a long season,” Blankenship said after the 40-33 win. “But I was ready for it, I was prepared for it and went in confident. I have guys in the room that are mature and I just learned from them everyday.”
The Eagles secondary was already without starting slot cornerback Avonte Maddox, who suffered a hamstring injury that landed him on injured reserve just before the Eagles’ Week 10 loss to the Washington Commanders. Maddox is eligible to return to practice after this Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans, but his timetable is unclear.
Josiah Scott has filled in at slot corner in Maddox’s absence. He also had an interception against Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, his coming off a deflection from Darius Slay on Green Bay’s opening drive.
“They’re tough, they’re smart, they have talent, and so you have that faith in them,” Sirianni said of the Scott and Blankenship. “You have that faith in them that they’re going to go out and perform and do the things they need to do to help us win. I think Josiah was able to do that at times last year for us, so we’ve seen that. He was also great on special teams for us all last year, and continuing into this year.”
“Sometimes you don’t get to see that live unless it is on special teams,” he added. “Every time Reed has had an opportunity to play and perform, he’s done a really good job.”
WATSON UNDER SCRUTINY
HOUSTON (AP) — With nearly all of the more than two dozen lawsuits filed against Deshaun Watson having been settled, most of the women who accused the Cleveland quarterback of sexual misconduct have no interest in his return to Houston on Sunday and just want to move on with their lives, according to their attorney.
But about 10 of the women who accused Watson of sexual harassment and assault during massages are planning to attend Sunday’s game at Houston’s NRG Stadium when the Browns take on the Texans and watch him play in his return from an 11-game suspension, said attorney Tony Buzbee.
Some of the women really want to attend the game “to kind of make the statement, ‘Hey we’re still here. We matter. Our voice was heard and this is not something that’s over. (Sexual harassment and assault) happen every day in the United States,’” Buzbee said.
The women declined to comment ahead of Sunday’s game, he said.
But it’s unclear if the spotlight Watson is expected to get this week will mean continued attention on the allegations against him and what his accusers say is trauma they’re still dealing with, or if it’s the first step in shifting the conversation strictly to football and his play on the field, according to experts.
“It can go either way … I think probably for the vast majority of NFL fans, they’re going to forget about the past and start focusing on the future with him,” said David Ring, a California-based attorney who is not connected to the lawsuits and who has represented victims of sexual assault.
Watson was still with the Houston Texans when more than 20 women alleged he exposed himself, touched them or kissed them against their will during massage therapy sessions. One woman alleged Watson forced her to perform oral sex.
Ultimately, 25 women represented by Buzbee filed lawsuits. One woman dropped her lawsuit while 23 others settled their cases in August. In July, 30 women who had accused the Texans of turning a blind eye to allegations against their former star quarterback settled their legal claims against the team.
Watson, who was traded to the Browns in March, has long denied any wrongdoing and two separate Texas grand juries declined to indict him.