The Bills said they would keep safety CJ Gardner-Johnson. And now they’re not.
Tuesday’s surprise move release veteran defensive back directly contradicting comments made publicly by coach Joe Brady, the same day Gardner-Johnson received a one-game suspension for spitting on an opponent during the Week 6 game against the Raiders.
“Look, CJ is a member of the Buffalo Bills” Brady said on October 19. “We brought him here for a reason, and we know he knows he has to play better. He knows he has to be better for this team and, you know, like everyone, we have to learn from all of this, and we have to improve and find ways to improve as the season goes on.
And now Gardner-Johnson is gone.
As a source explained to PFT, the Bills decided that Gardner-Johnson was simply too much “maintenance” — and that the talent and production didn’t justify the headaches.
Plenty of other teams could have told the Bills what was going to happen. Gardner-Johnson has hopscotched around the league, from the Saints to the Eagles to the Lions to the Eagles (again) to the Texans to the Ravens to the Bears to the Bills.
He’s been good enough to get more chances, but not good enough to keep him in light of the problems he brings with him.
The Bills hoped to exploit his attitude to give the defense a boost. Ultimately, though, the baggage outweighed the boost.
And now, Gardner-Johnson becomes a free agent again. Many coaches believe they can be the ones to speak to a player’s better angels. As for Gardner-Johnson, the Demons have won far too often.
Gn sports
