Coming out of their Week 7 bye, the Buffalo Bills dominated the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, helped by the fact that the Ravens had to turn to their emergency third quarterback after Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley got hurt.
But following that win for the Bills to climb to 6-1 on the season, they’ve made a noteworthy roster move by cutting ties with a former Super Bowl champion with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson was released by the Bills after Week 8, and after serving a one-game suspension for spitting. But, as Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network reports, it wasn’t his spitting, but rather his inconsistency that caused him to be cut by the Bills.
Bills cut CJ Gardner-Johnson after serving suspension for spitting
“Bills are releasing safety CJ Gardner-Johnson, per source,” Wolfe reports. “It was CJ’s inconsistency in play that led to the release not as much the spitting incident that got him suspended.”
The Bills are moving on from Gardner-Johnson after he played in six games this season through eight weeks. He missed Week 8 due to a one-game suspension for spitting on or toward a player in their win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
But Wolfe is reporting that his spitting suspension only played a part in their decision to cut ties with the veteran defensive back this season.
He instead pointed to Gardner-Johnson’s inconsistent play this season as the reason Buffalo shook up their defensive backfield in the middle of the season.
This season with the Bills, Gardner-Johnson had one interception, two passes defended, 26 total tackles, and a passer rating allowed of 85.2.
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Those aren’t horrible numbers, especially for a safety on a defense that has struggled this season. But while his overall numbers might look fine, the issue for the Bills was evidently the inconsistent production.
While he allowed just a 68.7 and 19.2 passer rating in Weeks 1 and 3 of the 2026 season, he allowed a 92.4, 126.6, and 118.7 passer rating in the three weeks leading up to the team’s bye.
Add in the occasional missed tackle with some high-variance coverage abilities, and the Bills have decided to move on from Gardner-Johnson in hopes of getting more stable production from their defensive backfield this season.
It would not be a surprise to see Gardner-Johnson find a new home this season, as a desperate team might accept the inconsistencies of his game. The Bills did not, and with his spitting suspension behind him, the Bills cut Gardner-Johnson prior to Week 9.
