To the surprise of no one, the NFL has levied a suspension on Buffalo Bills safety CJ Gardner-Johnson for spitting in the direction of Brock Bowers in the second quarter of the Week 6 game in Las Vegas.
Here’s the report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport:
While the suspension isn’t a stunner, there is some precedent here for Garnder-Johnson to appeal the fine.
At the start of the 2025 campaign, before the first snap of the season began, Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter spit in the face of Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and was promptly ejected from the NFC East contest.
Carter was not suspended in the aftermath, and the speculation for the reason centered around the fact that Carter had missed the entire Week 1 contest.
While certainly a despicable act, Garnder-Johnson spit toward Bowers, not directly on him. And it happened with under 20 seconds remaining in the first half.
So he’s already missed an entire half of football.
I wouldn’t necessarily bank Gardner-Johnson winning his appeal, given his reputation as an agitator. He’s racked up a decent amount of fines for said agitation on the field and was ejected from a game in 2024 against the Commanders while he played safety for the Eagles.
If he is suspended, this is the financial impact:
We’ll see what happens. Maybe Gardner-Johnson doesn’t even appeal. Most players do. As of now the Bills will be without one of their starting safeties for the November 1 home game against the Ravens.
