The Buffalo Bills released safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson on Tuesday, Nov. 3, ending his run in Buffalo six games in and just after he finished serving a one-game league suspension.
The Bills announced the move Tuesday afternoon. Gardner-Johnson, 28, started every game he played for Buffalo and had 26 tackles, two pass breakups and one interception, according to ESPN.
In case you forgot what happened
The suspension traces back to Buffalo’s Week 6 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Gardner-Johnson was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct and ejected after spitting toward Raiders tight end Brock Bowers, and the league sat him for one game. He served it in Week 8, when the Bills beat Baltimore without him.
He owned it at the time. In an Instagram story after the ejection, he called the gesture inappropriate and said he takes full accountability, Yahoo Sports reported.
So, was it the spitting?
Not entirely. NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe reported that the decision had more to do with inconsistent play in the secondary than with the suspension, as Pro Football Talk relayed. Per that reporting, the Bills felt they were seeing too many coverage plays they couldn’t explain.
There’s a roster wrinkle, too. Because a suspended player doesn’t count against the 53, Buffalo used the open spot on Oct. 31 to sign defensive back Te’Cory Couch. Couch stays on the active roster, and Gardner-Johnson is the one who goes, per the team.
Who’s next up at safety
Damar Hamlin and Geno Stone were the active safeties in the win over Baltimore, and rookie Jalon Kilgore is also in the mix, ESPN reported. Pro Football Talk and CBS Sports both have Hamlin in line for the starting job. ESPN also noted that Gardner-Johnson didn’t play special teams snaps for Buffalo, while the players behind him do.
Gardner-Johnson now goes on waivers. If he clears, he’s a free agent and can sign anywhere. Eagles fans will remember him from Philadelphia’s Super Bowl run after the 2024 season; the Saints originally drafted him in the fourth round in 2019.
Why it matters
McGraw Media’s read: Buffalo isn’t making a statement about character here so much as a statement about trust. The Bills just watched Hamlin and Stone hold up in a win over Baltimore, and both give them special teams value Gardner-Johnson didn’t. Cutting a six-game starter a week before the Nov. 10 trade deadline tells you they’d rather simplify the back end than keep waiting on consistency. For Gardner-Johnson, the next stop depends on whether a team values his experience more than it worries about the last month. One bad moment and a rough six-game stretch don’t erase a career, and he’s said as much himself.
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