What C.J. Gardner-Johnson Said About Being Released by Texans

At the beginning of the Houston Texans' 2025 season, one big storyline that surfaced following their Week 3 loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars was not only that the team had fallen to an 0-3 record through their first three games, but that they had also decided to cut ties with veteran safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

The move came as a surprise initially. After the Texans had acquired the Super Bowl-winning safety during the prior offseason via trade with the Phiadelphia Eagles in exchange for former first round pick Kenyon Green, Gardner-Johnson was expected to be a key piece of Houston's secondary throughout the year.

Instead, the fit wouldn't be one that lasted more than a month into the season, and Houston decided to dump him onto the free agent market for nothing.

Sep 15, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (8) and Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (0) celebrate after making a tackle during the second quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The concerns around Gardner-Johnson's fit with the Texans had seen several different reasons linked as to why the fit didn't work out as expected.

KPRC2's Aaron Wilson reported that the veteran safety had been complaining about his role, requested a trade, had disagreements with Houston's defensive scheme, criticized teammates, and even one of ther contracts.

However, in a recent interview with Gardner-Johnson from The Athletic, the veteran safety would go on to deny those rumored concerns––especially that of criticizing his teammate's contract.

“That’s a lie,” Gardner-Johnson said, via The Athletic's Tim Graham. “I never said s— about nobody’s contract. I’m on a $33 million deal. Why the f— would I talk about somebody’s contract?”

Gardner-Johnson Credits Texans Release to Spat With "the GM's Friend"

Instead, Gardner-Johnson feels his release following that third game of the season against Jacksonville can be credited to a back-and-forth he had with what he describes as "the GM's friend."

“If y’all going to cut me, cut me,” he said. “But I’ll give nobody reasons to cut me. I haven’t. I don’t. I’m not a cancer. There’s nobody in this locker room that says, ‘Chauncey’s a problem.’ The media loves me. The only thing that’ll do it is something that triggers somebody that has a say in the building that can alter somebody else’s mind. That happens every time."

“That’s how I got [cut] in Houston. One person that’s not technically a part of the organization called me a B-word at Greenbrier. I get out my body; he says something to the GM, and the next thing I’m cut.”

Since his time in Houston, Gardner-Johnson's bounced around the league to a few different squads.

He had a brief stint with the Baltimore Ravens following his split with the Texans last season, then that fit didn't quite work out as expected. Then, he found his way to the Chicago Bears to play in 10 games while starting in seven for 51 combined tackles and two interceptions. Now, he's with the Buffalo Bills for the 2026 season.

Dec 20, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (35) reacts against the Green Bay Packers during the first quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images | Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

Gardner-Johnson has a proven track record of being a contributing piece of winning teams and can still be a nice asset to the back-end of a secondary at 28 years old. But his leadership style, and the way he fits into the locker room, isn't ideal for every team.

For the Texans, it certainly wasn't, and the team made the call pretty quickly into last season to cut their losses and turn to another direction for their strong safety spot.

Now, the Texans have got another leader and Super Bowl champion from the Eagles holding down their safety unit in Reed Blankenship––signed to a three-year deal earlier this offseason as a hopeful plug-and-play piece into the back-end of their already-strong secondary. So far, he's already seen glowing reviews of his impact both on and off the field since coming into the building.

We'll see how the fit shakes out once rolling into the season. But there's little doubt that as it relates to their former safety, the Texans will have a motivated Gardner-Johnson facing them for Houston's season opener against the Bills later this year.

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