The Buffalo Bills aren't in a great position to start dumping starting defensive backs. They finally had a good performance this season, but it came against the Baltimore Ravens' third-string quarterback.
Even with what was effectively a week off for the defense, the pass defense is still the third-worst in the NFL. The Bills didn't have starting safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson for the matchup because he was suspended for spitting at Brock Bowers during the win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
It didn't matter, as the Ravens didn't pose any threat on offense once Lamar Jackson went down with an injury. Though the Bills need all the help they can get in the secondary, they made the decision to release Gardner-Johnson, per Jordan Schultz.
Why Bills had to move on from Gardner-Johnson
Gardner-Johnson is a great player to have when he's on. He's a skilled player and really knows how to get under an opponent's skin. That doesn't help when he's getting suspended for spitting at other players.
He also said that he would accept whatever punishment the NFL would give him, only to try and fail to appeal the suspension. There's a reason he has played for seven different NFL teams. He was a key contributor for the Philadelphia Eagles when they won the Super Bowl, and even they decided to move on from him.
Gardner-Johnson isn't a good player to have in the locker room, especially on a struggling defense. It's easy to see him becoming a toxic player to have in the building. Plus, his play hasn't been very good. His 55.2 Pro Football Focus grade is 71st among safeties.
He's still 28, so it'll be interesting to see if another team is willing to take a flyer on him. He could still be a decent piece for a good defense to have, but he's always a risk of causing a few headaches. Teams could simply be done putting up with it. The Bills clearly were. This is a clear message from head coach Joe Brady that he's not going to tolerate players who become distractions or cause issues.
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