Without question, it’s been a tough start to the season for Buffalo Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. His frustration boiled over in Week 6 during Buffalo’s road game at the Las Vegas Raiders, which led to his being flagged for a personal foul and ejected from the game for spitting in the direction of tight end Brock Bowers.
On the heels of that incident, Gardner-Johnson has been handed a one-game suspension. Despite all that, head coach Joe Brady isn’t blinking in the face of adversity and the court
of public opinion.
During his most recent media availability on Monday following the team’s win in Vegas, Brady explained that Gardner-Johnson “knows that can’t happen, that’s inexcusable, that’s not the standard that we’re gonna have and play with,” and that despite their intent to “toe the line, we can’t cross the line.”
Brady then also gave a vote of confidence in Gardner-Johnson, saying that no additional discipline or action will happen beyond the league punishment. He also acknowledged there’s plenty of room for improvement as a player and member of the locker room. When asked point-blank if Gardner-Johnson has a starting job when he returns, Brady said:
“Yeah, I mean, look, C.J.’s a member of the Buffalo Bills. We brought him here for a reason and we know that he — he knows that he has to play better. He knows he has to be better for this team. You know, just like, like everybody else. Right? We gotta learn from this stuff, and we have to improve, and find ways to get better as the season goes. You know, no different than — it’s different , right? — Jimbo fumblin’, you know. We have to continue to find ways to get better, and he (Gardner-Johnson) knows that he has to be better. And, you know, it’s just an opportunity for him — look, it’d be an opportunity for someone else to, you know, play in the week and step up — but it’s an opportunity for him grow and be better as a better teammate and a better football player, you know, when his opportunity comes up again.”
Gardner-Johnson’s actions will cost him an opportunity to suit up and play in the team’s Week 8 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, their first game back following the bye week. Bills Mafia will have to wait to find out what Brady meant by stating “when his opportunity comes up again.”
For his part, Gardner-Johnson owned his mistake and expressed a willingness to “take my consequence as it is, my fine, whatever it may be.”
