The Buffalo Bills are addressing an open spot in the secondary with the reported signing of veteran safety CJ Gardner-Johnson.
The contract is a one-year agreement worth up to $6 million.
With the departures of Taylor Rapp Jordan Poyer, Damar Hamlin and Cam Lewis, the only safeties on the roster who played at all in 2025 are starter Cole Bishop and 2025 rookie fifth-round pick Jordan Hancock.
It was a gaping need, one the Bills were expected to fill with a veteran, and perhaps by using one of their draft picks.
What makes the 28-year-old Gardner-Johnson such an intriguing addition is that he gives the Bills great flexibility, a player who just last season played snaps as a box safety, slot corner, free safety and even a few boundary corner snaps. The Bears also liked to use him on the edge of the defensive line as a pass rusher.
Gardner-Johnson has bounced around the league quite a bit since debuting with the Saints as a fourth-round pick in the 2019 draft.
He played three years in New Orleans, then began hopscotching from team to team, playing 2022 for the Eagles, 2023 for the Lions, 2024 for the Eagles, and 2025 for the Bears and Texans.
In both of his season with Philadelphia, the team made the Super Bowl, losing to the Chiefs following the 2022 season, then gaining revenge by beating Kansas City after the 2024 season.
Gardner-Johnson started his career at cornerback out of the University of Florida, then began transitioning to safety with Philadelphia in his first stint there. When he returned to the Eagles in 2024 he became the starting free safety, playing 805 snaps at the position and tying his career high with six interceptions, returning one for a touchdown. For his career, he has 20 interceptions in 87 regular-season games.
In Houston last year, Gardner-Johnson suffered a knee injury early in training camp, and while he was able to return to action in time for the regular season, he played in only three games before the Texans released him, a move that he publicly complained about.
He was signed to the Ravens practice squad but never got into a game for Baltimore, and eventually he was signed by the Bears and wound up starting seven of the 10 games he played for Chicago, plus one of its playoff games. He missed Chicago's first playoff game with a concussion, the victory over Green Bay. With the Bears he was in on 51 tackles, had three sacks and forced a fumble.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 37 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
