Published November 3, 2026 08:40 PM
The Bills said they’d be keeping safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. And now they’re not.
Tuesday’s surprise move to release the veteran defensive back directly contradicts the comments made publicly by coach Joe Brady, on the same day Gardner-Johnson received a one-game suspension for spitting on an opponent during the Week 6 game against the Raiders.
“Look, C.J.’s a member of the Buffalo Bills,” Brady said on October 19. “We brought him here for a reason, and we know that he knows that he has to play better. He knows he has to be better for this team, and, you know, just like everybody else, right, we’ve got to learn from this stuff, and we have to improve and find ways to get better as the season goes.”
And now Gardner-Johnson is gone.
As one source explained it to PFT, the Bills decided that Gardner-Johnson was simply too “high-maintenance” — and that the talent and production didn’t justify the headaches.
Plenty of other teams could have told the Bills what would 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 has been good enough to get more chances, but not good enough to keep him around in light of the issues that he brings with him.
The Bills hoped to harness his attitude in order to give the defense a lift. In the end, however, the baggage outweighed the boost.
And now Gardner-Johnson becomes a free agent again. Plenty of coaches believe they can be the one to speak to a player’s better angels. As to Gardner-Johnson, the demons have won, far too often.
