CJ Gardner-Johnson was carted off during a Thursday training-camp drill for his new team, the Houston Texans, in a frightening moment for his new team.
Gardner-Johnson joined the Texans this offseason via trade, leaving behind the Philadelphia Eagles, with whom he won the Super Bowl in February.
He is seen as a valuable piece to stop the AFC’s elite group of quarterbacks including Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, and Justin Herbert.
Per reporters on the scene, Gardner-Johnson looks to have suffered a right leg injury as a result of tackling wide receiver John Metchie III. When trying to get up, he could not put any weight on his leg.
Houston head coach DeMeco Ryans characterized Gardner-Johnson going down as ‘heartbreaking and ‘tough to watch’, per NFL reporter Aaron Wilson.
Fortunately for the Gardner-Johnson and the Texans, the safety’s ACL is intact, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Houston still plans to conduct more testing.
CJ Gardner-Johnson was carted off during training camp for his new team, the Texans
Gardner-Johnson joined the Texans this offseason via trade, leaving behind the Eagles
Gardner-Johnson has been looking for a long-term starting spot in the NFL, as he has yet to accomplish that feat despite his skill.
Even with the Eagles last season, he was listed as a starter, but was not relied upon regularly by Nick Sirianni’s defense.
In Houston, he looked to have that opportunity on the horizon and now it will have to wait until 2026 after he signed a 3-year, $27million contract with the Eagles before last season.
Before the 2024 season, Gardner-Johnson missed most of the 2023 campaign with the Detroit Lions with injuries.
Garnder-Johnson was also with the Eagles in 2022 and played for the New Orleans Saints for three seasons in a fringe starting role.