Everyone in the Bills organization held their breath on Saturday when safety C. J. Gardner-Johnson exited the field due to a non-contact injury.
Gardner-Johnson seemed to injure his foot and was seen leaving the field with a towel on his head while sitting in the passenger seat of a cart, but it doesn’t appear to be serious.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Saturday evening that tests revealed that Gardner-Johnson suffered a lower calf strain.
Calf strains can be a serious injury, but they usually take a few weeks to about a month to heal. With six weeks until the regular season, Gardner-Johnson will have time to recover.
Gardner-Johnson Escaped a Serious Injury
When Gardner-Johnson went down, many feared the worst, as non-contact injuries to the lower leg are always concerning. Often, a non-contact injury around the foot results in an Achilles tear, which can keep a player out for the entire season and could even ruin their career; that’s how impactful the injury is. The good news is that Gardner-Johnson avoided the worst outcome, and he told left tackle Dion Dawkins right after the injury that he would be okay.
“He can walk…he’s alright,” Dawkins said, via 13WHAM’s Dan Fetes. “I got the message from the coaches that he’s alright and they’re going to do their protocol… but CJ is okay.”
The Bills signed Gardner-Johnson to a one-year, $3.5 million deal this offseason. Buffalo needed safety help, and Gardner-Johnson is expected to be one of the best players, not just at the position, but also on the roster.
Hopefully, Gardner-Johnson will not miss much time, as he is still new to the team and will need to learn the defense just like everyone else. This is important since there will be a new defensive scheme this season under new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.
Joe Brady Turned Off Gardner-Johnson’s Live Stream
Gardner-Johnson made headlines on the first day of training camp on Tuesday when he was doing a live stream on a social media platform inside the locker room. Head coach Joe Brady reminded him of the importance of not going live in a team area, such as the locker room.
Brady didn’t seem upset with Gardner-Johnson at all and didn’t think it was a big concern when he told the media on Wednesday.
“But I can’t be anybody that I’m not. I’m going to act a certain way. There’s standards and there’s a [personality] I want us to be about and that’s what we handle in team meetings. If I see things that’s not the standard or living up to it or gets in the way of it, then I’ll address it. But something like that is not an issue. That’s not a concern,” Brady said, via The New York Post’s Christian Arnold.
Gardner-Johnson is now on his sixth team in the last eight seasons, playing for the New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Houston Texans. There is a reason he has moved around so much, and little things like going live on social media in the locker room can impact team culture. Gardner-Johnson will need to be more mindful of little things, like going live on social media while on the Bills, and it was a good thing Brady got it out of the way early in training camp.
Bills Receive Positive Update on C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s Status Following Injury Scare