Only 48 hours have gone by since the Houston Texans made the seemingly stunning decision to move on from CJ Gardner-Johnson after only three games, and it's already abundantly clear that based on what was going on behind the scenes, there was nothing stunning about the team's choice to cut the polarizing veteran safety.
In retrospect, it seems now that we should've seen this coming from a mile away. Put a player as outspoken as CJ Gardner-Johnson on a team that stumbled out of the gate to an 0-3 start just one year after he was a key part of a roster that won the Super Bowl, and we should've anticipated that there would be friction inside of the Texans locker room.
The initial reports indicated that Gardner-Johnson had called out teammates, complained about his role, spoke frequently about the differences between this team and last year's Philadelphia Eagles, and even went as far as requesting a trade out of Houston, to which DeMeco Ryans and co. responded, Oh, so you don't want to be a Texan anymore? Well, so long, partner!
“I wish Ceedy the best, unfortunately we just moved on. Every decision I make is always in the best interest of our team. It’s my decision to move on, I know it’s best for my team," DeMeco Ryans said on September 24, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 Houston. "I’m not going to go into all the details of it. Coming from me, the head coach, it was the best for our team. That’s why I made the decision, so I’m not going into any further details on it.”
Although DeMeco Ryans didn't provide any more direct information on why the decision was made, he did speak more about his mindset and how he believes his primary job as the head coach of the Houston Texans is to "protect the team."
“I have a great pulse of our team, I know our locker room,” Ryans added. “I know what’s going on with and around our team. I’m always keen and aware of what’s going on. That’s what it should be as a head coach. It’s always my first rule or a team rule for our guys, always protect the team. It starts with me as a head coach to making sure everybody is on the same page with having a team-first mentality. I’ve said that from my opening press conference here and that’ll always be me. It’ll always be about the team. It’ll never be about one person."
Texans players shed light on CJ Gardner-Johnson's dismissal
It would've been easy for any Texans player who stepped up to a microphone over the last 36 hours to put CJ Gardner-Johnson on blast, especially if all of the details regarding his exit are indeed true, in which case, any hard feelings toward him would be at least somewhat justified. But just as their head coach did, the Texans are taking the high road when discussing this whole endeavor.
“I think they had their own reasons,” quarterback CJ Stroud said. “I think as a team, we brought him in and he was part of the locker room. I like Ceedy a person. I think he’s growing as a man. He’s trying to find a relationship with God, which I think is dope. So, I wish him nothing but the best. I’m going to always be here for him if he ever needs me. I’m always going to be a fan of him.”
“I wouldn’t say I felt it coming or anything. We just came in here every single day, did our job and kept our hand down and was just working. Whatever decision the organization decides to make, they feel like that’s the best decision. That’s on them," safety Calen Bullock added. ”The defense is going to keep playing how the defense plays. We’re going to try and go out there, take the ball away more like we’ve been preaching this whole week and focus on the Titans.”
Under the cloak of anonymity, one Texans player did tell KPRC2, "“C.J, yeah, he had to go. You have to embrace the team culture. If you can’t do that, you can’t be a part of this team. He obviously didn’t do that, so he’s gone. It was a lot.”
Already in an 0-3 hole, the Texans have bigger things to deal with than the chirping of a disgruntled newcomer to the team. In the end, I'd bet that this ends up being an addition by subtraction sort of situation for the Houston Texans, where the unit as a whole thrives in Gardner-Johnson's absence.