Everyone in the Bills organization held their breath on Saturday when safety C. J. Gardner-Johnson exited the field due to a non-contact injury.
Gardner-Johnson seemed to injure his foot and was seen leaving the field with a towel on his head while sitting in the passenger seat of a cart, but it doesn’t appear to be serious.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Saturday evening that tests revealed that Gardner-Johnson suffered a lower calf strain.
Calf strains can be a serious injury, but they usually take a few weeks to about a month to heal. With six weeks until the regular season, Gardner-Johnson will have time to recover.
Gardner-Johnson Escaped a Serious Injury
When Gardner-Johnson went down, many feared the worst, as non-contact injuries to the lower leg are always concerning. Often, a non-contact injury around the foot results in an Achilles tear, which can keep a player out for the entire season and could even ruin their career; that’s how impactful the injury is. The good news is that Gardner-Johnson avoided the worst outcome, and he told left tackle Dion Dawkins right after the injury that he would be okay.
“He can walk…he’s alright,” Dawkins said, via 13WHAM’s Dan Fetes. “I got the message from the coaches that he’s alright and they’re going to do their protocol… but CJ is okay.”
The Bills signed Gardner-Johnson to a one-year, $3.5 million deal this offseason. Buffalo needed safety help, and Gardner-Johnson is expected to be one of the best players, not just at the position, but also on the roster.
Hopefully, Gardner-Johnson will not miss much time, as he is still new to the team and will need to learn the defense just like everyone else. This is important since there will be a new defensive scheme this season under new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.
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