Ravens Signing S C.J. Gardner-Johnson To Practice Squad

It’s a roll of the dice for Baltimore, as this is Gardner-Johnson’s sixth team in the last five years. He also wasn’t playing all that well when Houston surprisingly released him last month, in addition to reported locker room friction. 

However, the Ravens’ defense has been struggling and handicapped with injuries, and the organization has shown in the past it’s willing to roll the dice on polarizing players. 

Schefter points out the Texans are paying Gardner-Johnson a guaranteed salary still this year so there’s little financial risk for the Ravens. 

Gardner-Johnson, 27, is a former fourth-round pick of the Saints from Florida back in 2019. He was entering the final year of his four-year rookie contract and was set to make a base salary of $2.54 million when the Saints traded him to the Eagles during the preseason. 

Gardner-Johnson was testing the open market as an unrestricted free agent for the first time and signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Lions. He was placed on injured reserve after just two games with Detroit.

He returned to the Eagles on a three-year, $27 million deal last March but was traded to Houston for G Kenyon Green earlier this offseason. 

In 2025, Gardner-Johnson has appeared in three games for the Texans and recorded 15 total tackles.