Chauncey Gardner-Johnson to Miss Time with Lacerated Kidney, Per Report

The Eagles safety, who leads the NFL in interceptions with six is expected back at some point this season, according to NFL Media

USA Today

The Eagles are going to be without their top playmaker on defense for a few games after a report emerged that safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson is out indefinitely with a lacerated kidney.

Head coach Nick Sirianni did not have any updated information on Monday afternoon, but Tuesday morning NFL Media reported that Gardner-Johnson will miss time and that testing is ongoing so a timetable for how many games he will miss is still to be determined.

The injury is not expected to be season-ending, however, according to the report.

Asked about the injury just hours earlier by local media, Sirianni said: “Still working through that, still running tests and seeing what's going on, so don't have any new information for you yet, besides something in his rib area, in that midsection.”

A follow-up question was if it is being viewed as potentially a long-term injury or an IR stint possible.

“We're not there yet," Sirianni said. "Hopefully not, but we're not there yet. I know he was in some pain (Sunday night) after he took that hit.”

Gardner-Johnson suffered the injury when he delivered a solid shot to Green Bay WR Christian Watson after Watson caught a fourth-down pass that led to a Packers touchdown in what turned out to be a 40-33 win by the Eagles.

With his ball-hawking ability, Gardner-Johnson leads the NFL in interceptions with six and is a big reason the Eagles are 10-1 this season.

He is also in a contract year and is playing like a safety who could be in line for big payday, perhaps in the stratosphere of $15 million per year or more.

Undrafted rookie free agent Reed Blankenship will likely become the starter in Gardner-Johnson’s place.

The Eagles had to be encouraged to see Blankenship perform admirably when stepping in after CGJ went out. The UDFA intercepted Aaron Rodgers to stop a Packers drive and made six tackles. 

Blankenship, however, was penalized for unnecessary roughness for hitting a Packers receiver on one play and he was in coverage on Watson’s 63-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter.

Blankenship ended up playing 71% of the snaps after getting just two on defense in the previous 10 games, though he played some special teams after being inactive for the first four games of the season.

“Every time Reed has had an opportunity to play and perform, he's done a really good job,” said Sirianni.

The Gardner-Johnson news comes amid optimism that rookie defensive tackle Jordan Davis could return for Sunday’s home game against the Tennessee Titans, though Sirianni didn’t offer any updates in that regard, either, on Monday.

“Obviously we don't to have make that decision quite yet so I'm not there yet,” he said. “You think about everything that we have to go through to get ready for a game. So, you stay on top of everything, but you don't rush any decision, there is no reason to rush.”

He said that more would reveal itself on Wednesday when the Eagles return for practice after taking the previous two days off.

“I know he's attacking the rehab like crazy,” said Sirianni. “I know our training staff and our doctors and our strength staff are doing everything they can do to help him, and I know [DT] Jordan [Davis] is doing everything he can do to help himself.”

The Eagles are already without cornerback Avonte Maddox (ankle) and tight end Dallas Goedert.

Maddox, whose job is being filled by third-year man Josiah Scott, is eligible to return against the Giants on Dec. 11. Goedert can return the following week against the Bears.

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.