Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson was fined $22,511 for each of his unsportsmanlike conduct penalties against the Commanders last week.
Not only did Gardner-Johnson get tossed from that game but his fines total $45,022 for the afternoon.
Gardner-Johnson, 27, was tossed early in the third quarter against the Commanders and the Eagles definitely missed him the rest of the way in their 36-33 loss.
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Those two were the only fines from a chippy Eagles-Commanders game in Week 16.
The reason Gardner-Johnson’s fines were so high from this game is because these are not his first offenses. In fact, he had been hit with three unsportsmanlike conduct fines earlier this season.
In 2024, Gardner-Johnson has been fined five times for unsportsmanlike conduct for a total of $90,043 and was hit for another $11,255 for unnecessary roughness. That makes his total $101,298 in fines this season.
While it’s unclear exactly what Gardner-Johnson said to warrant both of those penalties and subsequent fines, there’s no doubt that it hurt the team when he was kicked out of the game.
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“Yeah, we've got to be better than that,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “We don't want that as part of our team. We don't want to be known for that. Our guys have to do a better job of not getting those fouls.”
As of Monday, the day after the loss, head coach Nick Sirianni said the Eagles hadn’t gotten any further explantation for why Gardner-Johnson was kicked out of the game.
Gardner-Johnson is known for his fiery personality but it’s obviously not great to see him get kicked out of games.
“You never want to have penalties like that,” Sirianni said. “I always encourage our guys to be themselves, have fun when you're celebrating, play how you play, but do it within the confines of the rules. That's something I say to our guys all the time. That's the same message here. Obviously, you don't want those situations. I love how much energy and fire those guys play with, but obviously at no point do you want them to get a penalty or is it acceptable to get a penalty.
“But, like I said, there is a reason we have an edge on defense. We have really good players who play with great passion and great fire. That's huge. We just always have got to understand and know to do it within the confines of the rules.”
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