ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills released safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson on Tuesday, just six games into his tenure with the team and one day removed from his suspension for spitting at an opponent being completed.
Gardner-Johnson, 28, signed with the Bills over the offseason and started the team’s first six games before he was ejected just before halftime against the Las Vegas Raiders for spitting in the direction of tight end Brock Bowers. Over his six games with Buffalo, Gardner-Johnson registered 26 tackles with two pass breakups and one interception.
After moving on from Gardner-Johnson, the Bills’ options at safety include veterans Damar Hamlin and Geno Stone and rookie Jalon Kilgore. Hamlin and Stone were Buffalo’s active safeties for its Week 8 win over Baltimore while Gardner-Johnson was serving his suspension, and the sense within the building is that the options on the roster played well enough to justify longer looks at the job with or without Gardner-Johnson in the fold.
Hamlin, Stone and Kilgore are also more valuable special teams options than Gardner-Johnson, who didn’t play any special teams snaps through the first six weeks.
Before signing with Buffalo, Gardner-Johnson played for six teams in the past five years. He won a Super Bowl as a member of the 2024 Philadelphia Eagles.
