Veteran safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson could leave the Detroit Lions in free agency after having played just six games with the team. But if it were up to fellow defensive back Brian Branch, the Lions would re-sign Gardner-Johnson.
“Yes bring this mf back,” Branch wrote on X (formerly Twitter) in response to a post asking if the Lions should bring back Gardner-Johnson.
Gardner-Johnson played just three regular season games for the Lions because he suffered a pectoral muscle injury in Week 2. Gardner-Johnson returned for the regular season finale and the team’s three playoff games.
In three regular season contests, he had 17 combined tackles, 3 pass defenses and an interception. Gardner-Johnson also had 12 combined tackles, 1 pass defense and 1 interception in the playoffs.
Last offseason, the Lions signed the 26-year-old to a 1-year, $6.5 million contract.
Why Brian Branch is Right, Lions Should Consider Re-Signing C.J. Gardner-Johnson
Unfortunately, the pectoral muscle tear sidelined Branch for a vast majority of the regular season. But the Lions still received a taste of what makes Gardner-Johnson so valuable.
Gardner-Johnson averaged about the same amount of tackles per game when he reached a career-high 67 combined tackles for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022. He also averaged a pass defense per game for Detroit.
In 2022, he had 8 pass defenses and was tied for the NFL lead with 6 interceptions.
Without question, Detroit’s biggest weakness heading into the offseason is pass defense. The Lions finished 27th in passing yards yielded and 29th in net yards allowed per attempt.
For that reason, pundits have connected the Lions to numerous cornerbacks and edge rushers in free agency and the NFL draft.
Bringing back Gardner-Johnson at safety would be a boost for Detroit’s secondary as well. It also wouldn’t alter any draft or free agency plans if general manager Brad Holmes is devising a big move at cornerback.
Gardner-Johnson’s Impact Goes Beyond the Field
There’s more to why the Lions should re-sign Gardner-Johnson than what he simply provides on the field.
The 26-year-old is notorious for being one of the NFL’s best trash talkers. At times, it gets the better of him, but his spirit is also motivating for his teammates.
“He’s got a contagious energy,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said at minicamp on June 7. “One of the reasons C.J. [Gardner-Johnson] is that way is because that’s how he gets his engine going. In turn, that just spills over into the offense and your teammates.
“You can’t help — the level of intensity. It raises. I think that makes everybody around you better and more competitive.”
The Lions likely felt Gardner-Johnson’s energy even though he wasn’t on the field much in 2023. He posted near-weekly injury updates and continuously claimed he was close to returning from his pectoral injury.
That could have positively impacted Branch, who was an outstanding rookie for the Lions in 2023.
But without Gardner-Johnson on the field for much of the regular season, former third-round safety Ifeatu Melifonwu emerged by the end of December as a playmaker for Detroit’s defense. The Lions also have fellow third-round safety Kerby Joseph under contract for 2024.
Both Melifonwu and Joseph are younger than 25.
The Lions will have to ensure a Gardner-Johnson return doesn’t stunt the growth of those young players.
But for a team with Super Bowl aspirations next season, the Lions re-signing the veteran safety makes a lot of sense.
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Brian Branch Pushes for Lions to Re-Sign Veteran Defensive Starter