The Philadelphia Eagles will have their work cut out for them this offseason, specifically when it comes to retaining some of their pending free agents.

Of the 20 players set to hit the open market in March, S CJ Gardner-Johnson is atop nearly every fan’s priority list. And it appears he’s atop the Eagles’ priorities this offseason as well.

On the most recent episode of “Inside the Birds” with Adam Caplan and Geoff Mosher, Caplan shared some insight on the Eagles thinking when it comes to CGJ.

Caplan on the Eagles retaining Gardner-Johnson

“CJ Gardner-Johnson isn’t going anywhere,” Caplan said. “They’ll tag him if they don’t think they can get a deal done. I get the sense they love Reed Blankenship at the third safety role, spot starter if you need him, I don’t know if they see him as a full-time starter.”

The best case scenario here is obviously getting Gardner-Johnson signed long-term. According to Spotrac, the franchise tag for a safety in 2023 will be worth upwards of $14.46M. As we all know, the Eagles will need as much cap space as possible this offseason to compensate for Jalen Hurts’ impending contract extension.

Luckily, Hurts’ hefty cap hit won’t hit until the following offseason since he still has one year remaining on his rookie deal. Applying the franchise tag to CGJ would certainly hurt the team’s ability to spend much this offseason, but it will afford them another year to come to an agreement on a long-term extension.

Mandatory Credit: NBC Sports Philadelphia