Eagles’ Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson Out Indefinitely with Injury

Eagles starting safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson will be out indefinitely with an injury suffered in the teams win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.

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According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, Gardner-Johnson suffered a lacerated kidney, but the injury is not expected to be season ending.

Gardner-Johnson was carted to the locker room for x-rays in the first half of the game after delivering a hit to Packers wide out Christian Watson.

He was in obvious pain and had to leave the game immediately.

"Yeah, it's tough to see that because he was in pain," Gannon stated on Tuesday.

"That's a tough injury. All injuries are tough, but really felt bad for him because he was hurting pretty good. He's played really good football for us, and it's going to be like, we've had some guys that have gone in and out of the lineup and we all have to pick up the slack and be able to function without him."

Reed Blankenship had a key interception in his place and would presumably take over the starting safety position.

"I want to say this: Reed had a very good game," Gannon said. "He came in there and that's a tough spot. But our guys, like they're psychologically prepped for that to happen. What I mean by that is everyone that has a jersey on game day, the head coach talks about roles, everyone has a role, but that can change like that [snapping fingers]."

"Reed had a really nice game on defense," Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni added on Monday. "I think he did a lot of good things there on defense."

They will need him to step in and continue to do good things, he has some big shoes to fill. Gardner-Johnson was having a fine season with 60 tackles, six interceptions, eight pass breakups and a sack.

Most recently, Zach Ertz missed a game with this type of injury and came back to play in a playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks.

K'Von Wallace might also get more snaps at safety.

"He's always mentally ready to go," Gannon said. "He practices his tail off out there. When we need him, he goes in there and plays well. So happy that he's doing that."