Pro Football Rumors
The Bills entered the offseason seeking a starting safety to partner with Cole Bishop. Shortly after free agency opened in March, general manager Brandon Beane chose the well-traveled C.J. Gardner-Johnson as his answer. The Bills took a one-year, $3.5MM flier on Gardner-Johnson, but Beane “heavily vetted” him before the deal came together, Tim Graham of The Athletic reports.
Gardner-Johnson is a proven ball hawk, having intercepted 20 passes in seven seasons, but his loud, fiery personality isn’t for everyone. The 28-year-old is already on his seventh organization. He hasn’t stayed with the same team for multiple years in a row since his career-opening run with the Saints from 2019-21. While he was an Eagle for a couple of seasons (2022 and ’24), there was a 2023 Lions stint wedged between those two one-year tenures.
Gardner-Johnson’s second run in Philadelphia concluded with a win over the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. He started for that team and played the third-most snaps on an excellent defense, but the Eagles parted with him in a trade for Texans offensive lineman Kenyon Green. The swap quickly went south for both sides. Philadelphia cut the disappointing Green before the season, while Gardner-Johnson didn’t last much longer than that in Houston.
Gardner-Johnson started in the Texans’ first three games, but he requested a trade amid an 0-3 start. They elected to release Gardner-Johnson without shopping him. He was reportedly a problem child in Houston, where he feuded with teammates (including criticizing someone’s contract) and complained about his role.
Gardner-Johnson told his side of the story to Graham, insisting: “That’s a lie. I never said s— about nobody’s contract. I’m on a $33 million deal. Why the f— would I talk about somebody’s contract?”
Gardner-Johnson informed Graham his Texans issues began at training camp in Greenbrier, W. Va., where he clashed with an unidentified “friend” of general manager Nick Caserio.
“That’s how I got (cut) in Houston. One person that’s not technically a part of the organization called me a B-word at Greenbrier,” he revealed. “I get out my body; he says something to the GM, and the next thing I’m cut.”
Caserio’s Texans said goodbye to Gardner-Johnson on Sept. 24, long after training camp wrapped up. He signed with the Ravens’ practice squad on Oct. 7, but they picked up fellow safety Alohi Gilman in a trade with the Chargers later that day. The Ravens paid a high price for Gilman, whom they acquired for edge defender Odafe Oweh. After the Gilman addition left no clear path to playing time for Gardner-Johnson, the Ravens parted with him on Oct. 14.
In regards to his week in Baltimore, Gardner-Johnson told Graham: “How does that sound? They sign you in the middle of the night with the plan for you to play that week, then literally 14 hours later they trade for a safety and tell you, ‘Oh, we’re going to start him and keep you on the practice squad.’ I’m a Super Bowl champion!”
Fortunately...
