The Buffalo Bills released safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson this week shortly after he completed a suspension stemming from a Week 6 incident in which he was ejected for spitting at an opponent against the Las Vegas Raiders. His tenure in Buffalo lasted just six games after he finished the 2025 season with the Chicago Bears.

Following his release, former NFL quarterback Chris Simms questioned whether Gardner-Johnson’s reputation could make it difficult for him to find another opportunity in the league.

Chris Simms Doubtful Over C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s NFL Future

During Wednesday’s segment of “PFT Live,” Simms detailed Gardner-Johnson’s high-maintenance reputation and how it could affect his continued employment in the league.

“We talked about it at the time; he was on thin ice,”Simms said. “And you worry now that this move’s made, does he ever get to play in the NFL again? Because of the reputation and what went on there. And you just wonder, yeah, he did what he did, then the coach sticks up for him, were there more pain-in-the-butt things that went on behind the scenes in the last two weeks to where they were like, ‘Okay, this guy’s just not gonna get the message.'”

“We’re all gonna wonder that because there’s a history. That’s what happens,” he added. “Your reputation starts to follow you around a little bit, and that’s what’s unfortunate because yeah, he does bring an edge and a spice to a defense, and he does have a role that he could fit for a defense.

“But if you’re constantly this renegade that gets penalties and yells at teammates, has little scuffles or whatever else, teams are gonna get exhausted of that if you’re not a marquee top-end player.”

Gardner-Johnson played for the Florida Gators in college before being selected No. 105 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. The Super Bowl LIX champion has had a journeyman career in the NFL, spending eight seasons with seven organizations and appearing in regular-season games for six of them.

Gardner-Johnson, who ranks 45th on PFN’s Safety Impact Metric this season and was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2019, has been involved in several controversial incidents during his NFL career.

In 2020, while Gardner-Johnson was with the Saints, Bears wide receiver Javon Wims accused him of spitting on him, an allegation Gardner-Johnson denied. He was later fined $5,128 for unsportsmanlike conduct after ripping Wims’ mouthpiece from his facemask earlier in the game.

Gardner-Johnson also received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after a skirmish with Anthony Miller during New Orleans’ Wild Card Round game against Chicago that same season.

Those incidents contributed to Gardner-Johnson’s reputation as an emotional, confrontational player, a reputation that has followed him throughout his career. It also put teams on notice about potential suspensions and punishments for the safety, who was the NFL interceptions co-leader in 2022 during a stint with the Philadelphia Eagles.

In six games played for the Bills, Gardner-Johnson amassed 26 tackles (17 solo), 2 pass breakups, and one interception for a Buffalo unit that has earned a PFN Defense Impact score of 68.9 (No. 24 in the NFL) this season.