Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s exit from practice on a cart last weekend caused a scare for the Bills, but word that he only suffered a calf strain allowed everyone a sigh of relief.
There was cause for another one at practice on Thursday. Gardner-Johnson was in uniform as the team took the practice field and reporters at the session share that he has participated without issue during the workout.
Gardner-Johnson is wearing a sleeve on his right calf for added protection.
Reporters also note that defensive tackle Deone Walker is taking part in practice Thursday. Walker has missed time with an elbow injury.
Bills Clips
Linebacker Otis Reese spent some time on the Bills’ practice squad last year and he’s back in Buffalo trying to earn a spot on the roster this summer.
The Bills announced Reese’s signing on Thursday morning. Linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles was placed on injured reserve in a corresponding move.
Reese spent a couple of weeks with Buffalo last season and finished out the year on the Patriots’ practice squad. He remained in New England this offseason, but was waived at the end of last month.
Reese appeared in 20 games for the Titans in 2023 and 2024. He had 38 tackles and an interception.
Flannigan-Fowles signed with the Bills in May. He spent five seasons with the 49ers before playing for the Giants last year.
Before Eagles defensive end A.J. Epenesa landed in Philadelphia, he had a one-year deal worth up to $5 million in place with the Browns. Until he didn’t.
The Browns pulled out of the agreement, due to concerns regarding his physical.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Epenesa didn’t want to say much about the Browns. He made it clear that he’s happy to be with the Eagles.
“Cleveland, you know, it was a weird situation,” Epenesa told reporters. “But I don’t necessarily want to go back and talk on that in just a weird sense but I’ll just leave that in the past and just be happy that I’m not a Brown and that I’m an Eagle.”
Is Epenesa healthy now?
“Very healthy,” he said, “feeling good, and happy to be here.”
His contract with the Eagles pays much less than his contract with the Browns would have entailed — one year, $1.402 million.
A second-round pick in 2020, Epenesa spent his first six seasons with the Bills.
Bills running back James Cook led the league in rushing last season with 1,621 yards. It came after a hold-in during training camp as he sought a new contract that he received after more than a week of not practicing.
Last year, though, was last year.
“I don’t like to talk about last year, because last year is in the past. This year is a new year,” Cook said, via John Wawrow of the Associated Press. “Put last year behind me, and just come out here to do it again.”
Only two players since 2001 have won back-to-back rushing titles — Derrick Henry (2019-20) and LaDainian Tomlinson (2006-07).
“I expect James Cook to take another step this year in different elements of his game and continue to be the workhorse as a runner,” new coach Joe Brady said. “And he wants it, right? He had such an incredible season last year. And without diving into exactly what, this is what I told him: He has got to get better. We can’t take steps backward.”
Cook, 26, said he is “looking forward to doing even bigger things.”
He concedes his ball security has got to improve after losing four of seven fumbles last season, including one at the Denver 30 in a 33-30 overtime loss in the divisional round.
“I fumbled, so I just got to fix it,” Cook said. “The ball is everybody’s job, and that’s my job. I’m willing to protect it.”
The Bills are only 5-4 in the postseason in Cook’s four seasons, losing in the divisional round three times and the AFC Championship Game once. They are the first team in NFL history to win a playoff game in six consecutive postseasons without reaching a Super Bowl.
“It’s on us. The ball is in our hands,” Cook said. “We control our own destiny. So whatever we do is on us. Eventually, it’s going to happen.”
Buffalo’s postseason loss to Denver was notable and consequential in that it resulted in the firing of former head coach Sean McDermott.
It was also a game in which quarterback Josh Allen committed four turnovers, including an inexplicable fumble with seconds remaining in the first half that allowed the Broncos to take a 10-point lead at halftime.
While the Bills have moved forward with Joe Brady as head coach, Kevin Clark of ESPN asked Allen in a joint interview with Brady how he processed his latest postseason loss in the divisional round.
After starting his answer in jest with, “Next question,” Allen talked about how the Bills have to continue persevering.
“I mean, definitely we’ve watched it, we’ve put it in the past, we’ve learned from it,” Allen said. “We’ve been in the playoffs a lot of times in the last however many years I’ve been here now. And just continuing to find ways to learn from it.
“It’s a hard pill to swallow sometimes because we haven’t gotten it done. But you knock enough at the door, it’s going to open at some point. That’s what we have to keep doing, is keep knocking on that door and giving ourselves chances to be in that situation again.”
The Bills have lost in the divisional round in four of the last five seasons. They’ve also lost twice in the conference championship to the Chiefs since 2020.
Is Aaron Rodgers really going to play in the preseason this month?
A report from Mike Silver of TheAthletic.com noted that Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy has asked Rodgers to play in the club’s first two preseason matchups. Rodgers told Silver that he didn’t necessarily want to play in the preseason, but if McCarthy wants it, the QB will suit up.
McCarthy was asked about Rodgers playing in the preseason during his Monday press conference and said it’s still to be determined.
“Those decisions, really, will be made once we get up to it,” McCarthy said, via Mark Kaboly of The Pat McAfee Show. “Trust me, I have a lot of ideas. … We have plans. But being in a healthy system, let’s see what happens — a lot can happen between now and then, too.
“But he’d like to play. I would like to see him play. But we won’t make a decision until we get all the way up to it because there’s more that goes into that than just having one player play. It’s the combination of the players.”
McCarthy and Rodgers’ separate comments do not necessarily match, as Rodgers explicitly told Silver, “I’m not saying I want to do it.” But with McCarthy as head coach, he’s the one who should have ultimate authority on the decision.
The Steelers will be facing Rogers’ two former teams to start the exhibition slate, hosting the Packers on Thursday, Aug. 13, and the Jets on Friday, Aug. 21. The Steelers will finish the preseason on Thursday, Aug. 27, on the road against the Bills.
Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson gave the team a scare when he went down in practice on Saturday, but there was relief in the organization when his leg injury was evaluated.
Gardner-Johnson was diagnosed with a calf strain and head coach Joe Brady said on Monday that the team was happy to get a favorable outcome given the way things looked when the veteran was initially injured.
“We’re fortunate,” Brady said, via Matt Parrino of Syracuse.com. “Any time you see a lower body extremity injury in the manner in which some of those happen, there’s always a bad possibility with it. We got good news. We’ll see how his body recovers.”
Brady said he would not put a timetable on when Gardner-Johnson will be back on the field because that recovery process differs from case to case, but the Bills should get him back in the relatively near future and that’s a win for the back end of their defense.
An MRI delivered good news to Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who was carted to the locker room with a right leg injury during Saturday’s practice. He was diagnosed with a lower calf strain, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Gardner-Johnson will miss practice time but has six weeks until the season opener.
The Bills signed Gardner-Johnson as a free agent this offseason.
Gardner-Johnson, 28, played three games for the Texans and 10 for the Bears last season. He totaled 66 tackles, three sacks, four passes defensed and two interceptions in his 13 games.
In his career, the seven-year veteran has recorded 370 tackles, 20 interceptions, 55 pass breakups and seven sacks.
Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson left Saturday’s practice on a cart after suffering what appeared to be an injury to his lower right leg and there’s no immediate word as to the severity of the injury.
Gardner-Johnson was not contacted before the injury and got on the cart after a brief examination on the field. After the practice, General Manager Brandon Beane said that further word on his outlook would wait for testing.
“I don’t know anything yet. Until we get an MRI, we’ll see,” Beane said, via John Wawrow of the Associated Press.
The Bills signed Gardner-Johnson as a free agent this offseason and he was set to play a big role in the team’s secondary, so any bad news on the MRI will lead to some shuffling on the back end of the defense in Buffalo.
The Bills added veteran safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the defense in an effort to give it a little more fight and bite.
The injury bug may have bitten Gardner-Johnson.
Via multiple reports, Gardner-Johnson left Saturday morning’s practice on a cart, after suffering a lower leg injury.
He had impressed in the early practices of training camp.
A fourth-round pick of the Saints in 2019, Gardner-Johnson has also played for the Eagles (twice), the Lions, the Texans, and the Bears.
Gardner-Johnson is projected to be the starting strong safety in Buffalo.
