Bills Release S C.J. Gardner-Johnson

Despite amassing 21 interceptions since he entered the league as New Orleans’ fourth-round pick in 2019, the outspoken Gardner-Johnson has had trouble sticking in one place for long. Buffalo was the seventh franchise for Gardner-Johnson, who hasn’t remained with the same team for multiple years in a row since his 2019-21 run with the Saints. He has had two one-year stints in Philadelphia, where he was a starter on its Super Bowl LIX-winning team in 2024.

Although Gardner-Johnson finished third in snaps on a championship defense, the Eagles traded him to the Texans a month after they routed the Chiefs, 40-22, in the Super Bowl. Gardner-Johnson had a fleeting stay in Houston, where he requested a trade in the first month of the regular season. The Texans wound up releasing Gardner-Johnson after just three games. While Gardner-Johnson reportedly feuded with his teammates in Houston, he insists that wasn’t the case. The 29-year-old said last July that the Texans cut him because he clashed with an unidentified “friend” of general manager Nick Caserio in training camp.

After the Texans cut ties, Gardner-Johnson caught on with the Ravens’ practice squad. However, the same day they added Gardner-Johnson, the Ravens acquired safety Alohi Gilman from the Chargers for edge defender Odafe Oweh. Seeing no path to playing time with Gilman in the fold, Gardner-Johnson requested his release via his agent. Baltimore obliged in mid-October, and Gardner-Johnson found a home in Chicago two weeks later. He reunited with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, who coached him in New Orleans, and was productive over 10 games with the Bears. While mostly working as a slot corner, Gardner-Johnson tallied 51 tackles, five TFL, four passes defensed, three sacks, two interceptions and a forced fumble.

Although he put up good numbers in Chicago, the team let Gardner-Johnson walk in free agency last offseason. Cognizant of his past behind-the-scenes issues, the safety-needy Bills vetted Gardner-Johnson before they handed him a one-year, $3.5MM deal with $3.02MM in guarantees. Bills receiver D.J. Moore (his teammate with the Bears) and defensive quality control coach Craig Robertson (his teammate with the Saints) reportedly vouched for Gardner-Johnson, whom secondary coach Joe Danna was excited to add.

While Gardner-Johnson made a key interception in the Bills’ Week 3 win over the Chargers, he didn’t do much else in his short tenure with the AFC’s current No. 1 seed. Gardner-Johnson missed tackles at a career-worst 18.8% rate in six games, and Pro Football Focus ranks his performance 71st among 97 qualifying safeties. In what proved to be his final on-field act as a Bill, Gardner-Johnson spit at Raiders tight end Brock Bowers in a Week 6 win. He earned a second-quarter ejection and a one-game suspension, keeping him out of the Bills’ victory over the Ravens last Sunday.

“He knows that that can’t happen. That’s inexcusable. That’s not the standard that we’re going to have and play with,” head coach Joe Brady said (via Alec White of the team’s website).

Brady and general manager Brandon Beane waited two weeks after the spitting incident to release Gardner-Johnson, perhaps because they grew more comfortable with their in-house alternatives. Safeties Damar Hamlin and Geno Stone were steady alongside starter Cole Bishop in Week 8, albeit against an injury-riddled Baltimore team that was down to undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano at quarterback for most of the afternoon.

The Bills also have rookie fifth-round safety Jalon Kilgore on their roster, but it’s possible they will address the position before the Nov. 10 trade deadline. Beans is reportedly seeking upgrades for a ‘D that ranked 30th in the league in scoring, 31st in yards and pass defense, and 32nd in EPA per play before it beefed up its stats against Fagnano in a 36-10 blowout. The Bills entered Tuesday with approximately $3.93MM in cap space, but Gardner-Johnson’s release will free up $500K more at the cost of $2.02MM in dead money.