The Houston Texans cut safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson on Tuesday.
Gardner-Johnson was acquired by the Texans in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles to add a veteran presence to a young but promising secondary. But miscommunications led the Texans to let the former Super Bowl champion go after starting the season with a record of 0–3.
There’s no indication Gardner-Johnson knew that he would be cut. He posted a positive message to X on Monday morning that was later deleted.
The reason for his release was not made public, but Gardner-Johnson’s play was certainly a major factor. On the Jaguars’ final drive of their 17–10 win over the Texans on Sunday, quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw a pass to wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., who caught it and cut across the field for a long gain that put the offense just inside the Houston 10-yard line. Running back Travis Etienne Jr. scored what would be the game-winning touchdown on the next play.
Video footage of the play showed how Gardner-Johnson’s miscommunication led to Thomas being wide open. The Texans were looking to stop the deep passing game: Gardner-Johnson was responsible for receivers breaking inside, while cornerback Kamari Lassiter was responsible for out-breaking routes. Lassiter was in a poor position to defend Thomas running a post route; Gardner-Johnson was in front of Thomas. But he passed off Thomas to cover an out route underneath, leaving Lassiter exposed and Thomas wide open over the middle. After tracking Thomas down to the 10, Lassiter threw up his hands in frustration.
“When you see a big play that happens on our defense, somewhere along the lines there’s a bust in communication,” Ryans said. “It all starts with communication, and it hasn’t been as crisp as it needs to be. So we have to play better on the defensive side. We’ve got to communicate better and we’ve got to execute the defense better. ... We see that we have to make some adjustments there to make sure we get it corrected.”
The deep pass is one of several notable mistakes Gardner-Johnson made over the first three weeks. On the Jaguars’ first touchdown, Gardner-Johnson followed the motion into a crowd in the middle of the defense. Running back Bhayshul Tuten walked into the end zone untouched.
Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2, Gardner-Johnson was caught out of position on a receiver who was already covered; he tried to bail out towards the end zone, but quarterback Baker Mayfield threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Ryan Miller.
Against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1, Gardner-Johnson overpursued and got washed down the line of scrimmage, allowing running back Kyren Williams to cut back into the end zone for the Rams’ first touchdown. In the third quarter, he tripped while covering a deep completion from quarterback Matthew Stafford to wide receiver Xavier Smith. On the following play, Gardner-Johnson was lined up over tight end Davis Allen, but switched to cover another tight end in the flat, forcing Lassiter to flip his hips and chase down Allen, who caught the go-ahead touchdown in the corner of the end zone.
In all three games, Gardner-Johnson gave up first-down receptions that extended long drives.
Without Gardner-Johnson, the Texans will have to rely on veteran M.J. Stewart as their starting safety opposite second-year free safety Calen Bullock. Houston also has safety Jalen Pitre on the roster, though he is listed as their nickel corner. Jalen Mills, who won Super Bowl LII with the Eagles in 2017, is on their practice squad.
Gardner-Johnson was drafted by the New Orleans Saints out of Florida in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He spent three seasons in New Orleans before being traded to the Eagles in 2022. He helped lead the team to an NFC Championship and an appearance in Super Bowl LVII.
