The Philadelphia Eagles wanted out of the C.J. Gardner-Johnson business not once but twice, and the second time came after he threw 6 interceptions on a Super Bowl-winning team.
The reason wasn’t complicated — Gardner-Johnson is a nightmare in the locker room, on the field, and off the field. The Buffalo Bills found that out the hard way this season after signing him to a 1-year, $3 million contract.
After Gardner-Johnson played in six games — the last of which he was suspended for one game for spitting on Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers — the Bills decided they weren’t going to wait to cut bait and released him on November 3.
For Gardner-Johnson, this might be the end of the road — the Bills were his seventh team in eight seasons. On Saturday, he unleashed a rant for the ages on his Instagram Stories that — literally — blamed everyone but himself for his struggles.
Gardner-Johnson has played for the Saints, Eagles (twice), Texans, Ravens, Bears, Bills, and Lions.
“In just a couple weeks, EVERYONE turned on me!” Gardner-Johnson wrote. “No friends, no real support, it sucks we live in a society where one move can cause a downfall to anything! If this the last time y’all see my face or hear from me it’s cause you don’t understand the person, went through years of pain, alone, suffering trying to fit in, never got the same opportunity everybody else got! “And when I say same opportunities, just check my history ‘my attitude and character’ my position but no real stories to back that up! It’s ok though as a man I just pray that one day it get better.”
Sympathy in Short Supply for CJGJ Online
Gardner-Johnson’s long history of misbehavior led to very little sympathy online for him following his “woe is me” post — but some serious and valid concerns for his mental health.
“It’s always someone else’s fault but his own,” Texans fan Eddie wrote on his official X account. ‘C.J. Gardner–Johnson has to be one of the least self aware people out there.”
“CJ Gardner–Johnson needs a wellness check done asap,” Jesus Laboy wrote on X. “I hope his family and loved ones have a wellness check done for him asap.”
“CJ Gardner Johnson does stupid (expletive) on every team he goes to & pulls the victim card or mental health cry for help,” Illinois Kash Out wrote on X.
“C.J. Gardner Johnson is a prime example of what men do when they have to face the consequences of bad behavior,” A Rae With Words wrote on X. “He disrupted his own life with arrogance and a lack of impulse control but is somehow feeling sorry for himself as if his behavior wasn’t completely optional.”
CJGJ Denied ‘Locker Room Cancer’ Label
Gardner-Johnson’s full spectrum of takes was on display in a wide-ranging preseason interview with The Athletic’s Tim Graham, where he talked about everything from being labeled a locker-room cancer to taking joy in the Eagles losing more and more players off the Super Bowl-winning team he was a part of in 2024.
“One of the narratives is I’m a cancer in the locker room,” Gardner-Johnson told Graham. “That just came out when? After Houston? Where was that after the Super Bowl loss? Where was that after the Super Bowl win? When we do our homework and really think about it, where have I been a cancer?”
It’s worth considering that Gardner-Johnson, with $32.4 million, might also be under a great deal of stress in his personal life despite his riches. Graham’s article also revealed the 28-year-old is the father of six children — ages 15, 12, 7, 3, 3, 2, and 1.
Ex-Eagles Star Blames ‘EVERYONE’ for Bills Release in Epic Instagram Rant