Texans' C.J. Gardner-Johnson Lands Huge Injury Update

Houston Texans safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson received great news surrounding his latest injury scare suffered during this week's training camp practice.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, after further testing, Gardner-Johnson's knee injury isn't as serious as initially expected, and the veteran safety could be good to go as soon as the Texans' Week One opener against the Los Angeles Rams.

Further testing revealed that Texans safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s knee injury isn’t as serious as it could have been, and it’s not out of the question that he could be back as soon as the regular-season opener vs. the Rams.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 8, 2025

On Thursday, Gardner-Johnson was carted off in Texans' practice after going down with a scary injury during a tackle on wide receiver John Metchie III. After the play, the veteran safety was reportedly in serious pain and couldn't put any weight on his leg.

At first, the signs didn't look too good for Gardner-Johnson, with questions coming in as to whether he'd even be able to go at all for this season based on how serious the implications appeared. However, in some incredible news for the Texans' secondary and defense as a whole, his first year in Houston might not be derailed much as once thought, if at all.

Gardner-Johnson was picked up by the Texans earlier this offseason in a trade with the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, paired with a future sixth-round pick in exchange for former first-round guard Kenyon Green and a fifth-round selection, bringing in another big-time playmaker for this Houston secondary.

During his last year with the Eagles, Gardner-Johnson started in 16 games, logging 59 combined tackles, two tackles for loss, 12 passes defended, and tied his career-high of six interceptions on the year en route to his first-ever Super Bowl ring.

Feb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (8) celebrates after a defensive stop against the Kansas City Chiefs during the second half of Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The exact specifics of the injury and a concrete timeline to return for Gardner-Johnson are still remain up in the air, but at the very least, his status for next season is trending in a strong direction compared to where it was at earlier in the week.

In the meantime, with Gardner-Johnson set to miss at least a couple of weeks and a doubtful status for preseason, along with Jimmie Ward's absence still to factor in, the keys for this unit in the back-end will be turned over to second-year safety Calen Bullock and USC rookie Jaylin Smith.

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