Lions’ C.J. Gardner-Johnson Potentially Teases Return Date With Cryptic Message

Defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson has been adamant since suffering his pectoral injury in Week 2 that he will be back for the Detroit Lions this season.

On November 30, he may have revealed the exact date he plans to return.

Gardner-Johnson posted a simple black screen with white lettering, saying “December 20” in his Instagram story. A Lions emoji was included with the date.

December 20 will be the first day of practice for the Lions to prepare for the Week 16 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.

Gardner-Johnson has been on injured reserve since the end of Week 2. He sustained a pectoral tear against the Seattle Seahawks.

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C.J. Gardner-Johnson Reveals Possible Return Date

The 25-year-old posting a potential return date shouldn’t be surprising for anyone who’s followed Gardner-Johnson’s recovery journey.

“I’ll be back,” he posted as a caption to a video on Instagram immediately after the injury.

“This (stuff) makes me tear up, for real,” Gardner-Johnson said in the Instagram video. “I don’t want to cry no more. I just want to get to it. You feel me? Look at this, I’m out there playing with one arm. They can’t stop me with this (stuff). When we (talking about) tapped out, I ain’t tapped out yet. I ain’t tap out yet, bro.”

On October 13, Gardner-Johnson expressed in an Instagram story video that he was aiming to return for the division round of the NFL playoffs.

But the 25-year-old has appeared to be growing impatient with his own return. On November 14, he wrote “time is ticking” with a purple devil smile emoji in a cryptic Twitter post.

With that tweet, Gardner-Johnson didn’t clearly state whether he would be back before the playoffs. His latest Instagram story, though, appears to indicate that his new goal is to return before the end of the year.

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Lions’ Dan Campbell Says Don’t Rule Out Early Gardner-Johnson Return

Lions head coach Dan Campbell placed some doubt about Gardner-Johnson returning before the playoffs when asked about the defensive back’s recovery on November 20. Campbell joked that he wanted, “to talk to the doctor that he’s talking to” and then implied that Gardner-Johnson would need mutant genes like Wolverine to return that quickly.

But then Campbell didn’t rule out that possibility.

“I don’t foresee that [return], but yet, never say never,” Campbell told reporters on November 20. “I’m not going to do that.

“There’s no telling. Believe me, that would be unbelievable. But I think it will be hard.”

The Lions could definitely use Gardner-Johnson back on the field. Detroit is ranked 20th in pass defense. The Lions have also allowed the sixth-most passing touchdowns this season.

Part of the problem has been the pass rush. The Lions have just 23 sacks, which is 26th in the NFL. But a healthy Gardner-Johnson would improve Detroit’s pass coverage, which could cause opposing quarterbacks to hold onto the ball a bit longer, helping the pass rush.

Gardner-Johnson’s presence could also improve the Lions’ turnover margin.

The Lions have 7 giveaways and 1 takeaway in the past two games. That’s pushed Detroit’s turnover margin to minus-5 for the season.

The Lions offense must do a better job of taking care of the ball, but a Gardner-Johnson return could definitely lead to more Detroit takeaways. Gardner-Johnson was tied for the NFL lead with 6 interceptions last season.

Lions fans should probably wait for an injury update from Campbell and the team before getting excited about a Gardner-Johnson return. But there’s no doubt that the defensive back is aiming for the quickest return possible.

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