One topic that flowed throughout the presser was the upcoming safety competition between Sydney Brown, Drew Mukuba and Tristin McCollum. The discussion naturally led to a follow-up question on GM Howie Roseman’s offseason trade that shipped starter C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans, and Fangio may have been a little too honest with his response.
“You know, that was a salary cap thing,” Fangio said. “Howie made that decision. I was fine with it.”
Again, most coaches would just leave it at, “Howie made that decision and we’re moving on,” but Fangio is a rare bird at the mic.
Gardner-Johnson actually had one of the better seasons of his career in 2024, but his play was masked a bit by breakout performers like Jalen Carter, Zack Baun, Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell. CJGJ had six interceptions and six pass breakups. The nine touchdowns he allowed in coverage, per PFF, could have been a red flag for Fangio and Co., though, as Gardner-Johnson seemed to ad lib at times in center field.
Moving on from CJGJ was probably more about the money, especially in future years, as the team is preparing for Carter’s mega extension in 2026, among other things. But it doesn’t sound like many within the organization was upset about Howie’s decision back in March.
