The Buffalo Bills made a notable defensive backfield move after their Week 8 bye, parting ways with Chauncey Gardner-Johnson after he had already served a one-game suspension for spitting.
Buffalo had just rolled past the Baltimore Ravens to improve to 6-1, but the roster shakeup came soon after, with the team releasing the former Super Bowl champion who won a title with the Philadelphia Eagles.
According to Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network, the suspension was not the main reason the Bills moved on. Wolfe reported, "Bills are releasing safety CJ Gardner-Johnson, per source," and added, "It was CJ's inconsistency in play that led to the release not as much the spitting incident that got him suspended."
Gardner-Johnson appeared in six games for Buffalo through eight weeks. He sat out Week 8 after being suspended for spitting on or toward a player in the Bills’ win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Still, Wolfe’s reporting made clear the Bills viewed the issue as bigger than that one incident. Buffalo decided the veteran defensive back’s week-to-week play was too uneven to keep him in the mix.
On the season, Gardner-Johnson finished with one interception, two passes defended, 26 total tackles, and a passer rating allowed of 85.2.
Those numbers were not disastrous, but the Bills were looking for steadier output. His play swung sharply from week to week: he allowed a 68.7 passer rating in Week 1 and a 19.2 rating in Week 3, then gave up a 92.4, 126.6, and 118.7 passer rating in the three weeks before Buffalo’s bye.
With some missed tackles mixed in and coverage that could vary from snap to snap, the Bills opted to move on and try to get more reliable production in the secondary.
Gardner-Johnson could still draw interest elsewhere this season. Buffalo, though, chose not to wait, and cut him before Week 9.
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