Dec 23, 2024; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; General view of a New Orleans Saints helmet during the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Saints Fan-Favorite Avoided Season-Ending Injury

Originally posted on New Orleans Saints on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Aug 8, 2025 6:21 PM ET

It was a rough day for a former New Orleans Saints fan-favorite on Thursday, but it sounds like it could've been worse.

There was preseason action across the National Football League on Thursday but there was a different story that overshadowed much of the day and it involved a former Saints fan-favorite.

The Houston Texans acquired former Saints safety CJ Gardner-Johnson this offseason in a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. Gardner-Johnson is coming off of a season in which he helped Philadelphia make a run to the Super Bowl, with Saints head coach Kellen Moore. Gardner-Johnson had six sacks last year in 16 games played in the regular season.

The 27-year-old is familiar with Saints fans, for sure. He began his NFL career in New Orleans. Gardner-Johnson was selected in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft by New Orleans and spent the first three seasons of his career in town. Since then, he's had two stints with the Eagles, spent a season with the Detroit Lions, and now is with the Texans.

Former Saints star left practice on Thursday with significant-looking injury

There was fear on Thursday that Gardner-Johnson could've torn his ACL. While this is the case, ESPN's Adam Schefter shared on Thursday night that it wasn't the case and the ACL was still intact.

"Tests revealed that Texans safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s ACL is intact, per sources. The Texans still are conducting more testing to determine the extent of the injury but the team is not concerned about his ACL," Schefter said.

Gardner-Johnson got another update on Friday and it was shared by Schefter that the injury wasn't as bad as inititally expected and there's even a chance that he could play in Week 1 for the Texans.

"Further testing revealed that Texans safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s knee injury isn’t as serious as it could have been, and it’s not out of the question that he could be back as soon as the regular-season opener vs. the Rams," Schefter said.

You never want to see a player get injured. The fact that Gardner-Johnson was able to seemngly avoid anything serious is some of the best news out there. The former Saints star is one of the most outspoken players in the league. The NFL is better with him on the field. Fortunately, that seems likely right now.

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This article first appeared on New Orleans Saints on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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