Before the Texans nearly made it to the AFC Championship for the first time in franchise history, they started the year 0-3. Then, they shook things up by abruptly cutting safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
It was a surprising move, especially since the Texans (who acquired Gardner-Johnson in a trade with the Eagles) made no effort to re-trade him. They simply cut ties with him.
The Texans never provided a clear explanation of why Gardner-Johnson, who had just won a Super Bowl in Philadelphia, needed to go. In a new interview with Tim Graham of The Athletic, Gardner-Johnson supplies his side of the story.
According to the player, things started to go sideways at training camp in West Virginia, after a confrontation with “the GM’s friend.”
“If y’all going to cut me, cut me,” Gardner-Johnson said. “But I’ll give nobody reasons to cut me. I haven’t. I don’t. I’m not a cancer. There’s nobody in this locker room that says, ‘Chauncey’s a problem.’ The media loves me. The only thing that’ll do it is something that triggers somebody that has a say in the building that can alter somebody else’s mind. That happens every time.
“That’s how I got [cut] in Houston. One person that’s not technically a part of the organization called me a B-word at Greenbrier. I get out my body; he says something to the GM, and the next thing I’m cut.”
The Texans declined to comment for Graham’s story. Still, the objective timeline doesn’t exactly support the effort to connect the training-camp incident to Gardner-Johnson’s release.
The Texans were at The Greenbrier from August 4 to August 7. The Texans cut him on September 23, a full 47 days after leaving West Virginia.
It had been reported that Gardner-Johnson struggled to learn the Houston defense, and that he “finger-pointed” in lieu of accepting responsibility for his mistakes. Another report indicated that the team had become exhausted by his complaints.
Whatever the reason for his exit from the Texans, Gardner-Johnson has never stayed in one place for very long. Picked by New Orleans in the fourth round of the 2019 draft, the Saints traded him to the Eagles after three seasons. After one year in Philly, he signed with the Lions. After one year with the Lions, he returned to the Eagles. After another year with the Eagles, he was traded to the Texans.
Cut after three games in Houston, Gardner-Johnson landed on the practice squad in Baltimore. One week later, the Ravens released him.
The Bears signed him in late October, and he finished 2025 in Chicago. Then, Gardner-Johnson signed with the Bills.
Seven seasons. Six departures. Gardner-Johnson can say it’s not him — and maybe it isn’t. Still, he’s made six exits in less than four calendar years (the Saints traded him to the Eagles on August 30, 2022).
On several occasions, Gardner-Johnson aired grievances after his departures. He called his year with the Lions “hell,” and he claimed he was “lied to.” He said the Eagles traded him after the team won Super Bowl LIX because they were “scared of a competitor.”
He complained to Graham about his week in Maryland: “They sign you in the middle of the night with the plan for you to play that week, then literally 14 hours later they trade for a safety and tell you, ‘Oh, we’re going to start him and keep you on the practice squad.’ I’m a Super Bowl champion!”
Despite his performance in 11 games with the Bears, Gardner-Johnson told Graham that he knew the Bears wouldn’t re-sign him.
“I’m a firecracker, but let’s take the body of work: never legally been in trouble; never physically harmed a person,” Gardner-Johnson said. “But I haven’t been a captain ever in my life. They say, ‘You gotta lead the right way.’ My definition of leading is winning. . . . There’s a lot of captains in this league — and I want this to come out — that’s just for jersey sales. I can show you three, four captains right now that I wouldn’t get behind. Why would I get behind anybody that doesn’t believe in himself? I’ve played for plenty of false captains, but I gotta fake it, like, ‘That’s my leader!’”
He knows that people already think the Bills will cut him. Bills GM Brandon Beane was nevertheless willing to roll the dice on Gardner-Johnson, after both doing the research on the player and making sure he understands the ground rules.
“We talked about just making sure, ‘You’ve got to be a good teammate,’” Beane said. “We don’t want any cheap shots in practice or anything like that. You want to keep it in between those lines, but you do want his edge.”
Implied in that message is that Beane concluded Gardner-Johnson has a reputation for not being a good teammate, and for taking cheap shots in practice.
So far, the Bills seem to like him. Defensive coordinator Jim Leonard calls Gardner-Johnson a player who “loves football,” and who “loves being in the building.”
The challenge isn’t to be in the building. The challenge is to stay in the building. Gardner-Johnson vows that he will.
“I’m going to win the next two out of three Super Bowls,” he told Graham. “How? Look where they placed me at. Look who’s my quarterback. If I got a fucking fighting chance, it’s over with.”
Frankly, that’s the kind of fire the underachieving Bills need from their new “firecracker” safety. And maybe it’ll be enough to have a “C” on Gardner-Johnson’s jersey when he walks onto the field for Buffalo’s Week 1 game at, yes, the Texans.
Saints Clips
Having won his first MVP award in 2025, quarterback Matthew Stafford is coming off a year where he played some of the best football of his career.
But Stafford, who turned 38 in February, is clearly on the back nine of his career — if not the proverbial final few holes.
There was speculation that Stafford could retire after the 2025 season, but he put that to rest in his MVP acceptance speech. He and the Rams are now comfortable going year-to-year as it relates to Stafford continuing his career.
As Stafford gets older, he’s consulted with some of his former peers about potentially playing into his 40s: Tom Brady and Drew Brees.
He addressed that in a recent interview with Chris Long’s Green Light podcast.
“I talked to [Brady] a little bit, I’ve talked to Drew Brees a little bit about it as well,” Stafford said. “It is year-to-year because I think it’s fair to the team, I think it’s fair to me, my family — I don’t want to sit there and say, OK, 24 months from now, I’ve got to be ready to play another football season. I’m like, phew, that just seems like a lot. I know that I’m ready to play this year. And hopefully, I feel great at the end of next year, and I’m ready to play another one after that. And then maybe we just kind of keep going like that. But, committing to more than that feels a little bit daunting. And I think a little bit unfair to the team and myself.
“So, the last thing I want to do is sign some five-year extension, and after one year be like, ‘Oh man, I’m ready to retire. I want to spend time with my family.’ And they’re sitting there with four years on the books and had a bunch of planning done that I was going to be around. I don’t want to play football not all the way in it, too, and just be half-assed leading it.”
Stafford added that the Rams’ brass has been great about the situation.
“But, yeah, I don’t know,” Stafford said. “I don’t know how far I want to play. I know I’m excited about playing this year and then we’ll see after that.”
Stafford added that he’s spent time talking with Brady in each of the last two offseasons. But one of his most notable conversations with Brees happened last year.
“I think one of the things that surprised me is, I was talking to Drew — this was before last season — and he was like, ‘How old are you, again?’ I was like, ‘I’m 37.’ He’s like, ‘You might have your best five years of your career coming up.’ And I was like, ‘Huh,’” Stafford said. “I never really thought about it that way. You’re taught as a player in this league it’s a young man’s game and the older you get, you’re just kind of doing everything you can to try to stay up to par with everybody else. And Drew saying that kind of lit a fire under me, and it give you a little bit of belief that maybe an old guy can go out there and spin it around a little bit.
“Obviously, last year was a successful year for our team and for myself. And just gives you a little bit of energy moving forward and hope that that continues.”
Stafford completed 65 percent of his passes last season, leading the league with 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns while throwing just eight interceptions. In the postseason, Stafford completed 55.5 percent of his throws for 936 yards with six touchdowns and one pick in three games.
There are several NFL teams that have taken notice of UFL players, bringing them onto their 90-man rosters.
As noted by the UFL on Tuesday, so far 23 players who played in the league this spring have been signed to NFL rosters.
The Lions have brought in the most UFL players, having signed four.
The Falcons, Cowboys, and Saints have each signed three players. The Bears, Broncos, Dolphins, and Eagles have signed two each, with the Bills and Steelers bringing in one.
Receiver has also been the most popular position for NFL teams, with the group accounting for 10 of the 23 signings. There have been four defensive backs, three defensive ends, and two offensive linemen signed.
The offseason programs around the league have largely wrapped up for 2026, with players and coaches around the league now experiencing some time off.
But training camps are just a few weeks away from opening.
The NFL announced the camp report dates for all 32 teams on Monday, with the first ones opening up in less than a month.
Below are the camp locations and report dates:
Arizona Cardinals: State Farm Stadium | Rookies: 7/22 | Veterans 7/22
Atlanta Falcons: Atlanta Falcons Training Facility | Rookies: 7/24 | Veterans: 7/28
Baltimore Ravens: Under Armour Performance Center | Rookies: 7/24 | Veterans: 7/28
Buffalo Bills: St. John Fisher University | Rookies: 7/21 | Veterans: 7/28
Carolina Panthers: Bank of America Stadium | Rookies: 7/21 | Veterans: 7/22
Chicago Bears: Halas Hall | Rookies: 7/25 | Veterans: 7/28
Cincinnati Bengals: Paycor Stadium | Rookies: 7/25 | Veterans: 7/28
Cleveland Browns: CrossCountry Mortgage Campus | Rookies: 7/23 | Veterans: 7/28
Dallas Cowboys: Marriott Residence Inn Oxnard | Rookies: 7/28 | Veterans: 7/28
Denver Broncos: Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit | Rookies: 7/22 | Veterans: 7/28
Detroit Lions: Meijer Performance Center | Rookies: 7/25 | Veterans: 7/28
Green Bay Packers: Lambeau Field | Rookies: 7/27 | Veterans: 7/28
Houston Texans: Houston Methodist Training Center | Rookies: 7/21 | Veterans: 7/28
Indianapolis Colts: Grand Park | Rookies: 7/27 | Veterans: 7/28
Jacksonville Jaguars: Miller Electric Center | Rookies: 7/25 | Veterans: 7/28
Kansas City Chiefs: Missouri Western State University | Rookies: 7/28 | Veterans: 7/28
Las Vegas Raiders: Intermountain Health Performance Center | Rookies: 7/23 | Veterans: 7/28
Los Angeles Chargers: The Bolt | Rookies: 7/23 | Veterans: 7/28
Los Angeles Rams: Loyola Marymount University | Rookies: 7/25 | Veterans: 7/25
Miami Dolphins: Baptist Health Training Complex | Rookies: 7/21 | Veterans: 7/28
Minnesota Vikings: TCO Performance Center | Rookies: 7/26 | Veterans: 7/28
New England Patriots: New Balance Athletics Center | Rookies: 7/21 | Veterans: 7/24
New Orleans Saints: Ochsner Sports Performance Center | Rookies: 7/28 | Veterans: 7/28
New York Giants: Quest Diagnostics Training Center/The Greenbrier | Rookies: 7/23 | Veterans: 7/28
New York Jets: Athletic Health Jets Training Center | Rookies: 7/25 | Veterans: 7/28
Philadelphia Eagles: Jefferson Health Training Complex | Rookies: 7/28 | Veterans: 7/28
Pittsburgh Steelers: Saint Vincent College | Rookies: 7/28 | Veterans: 7/28
San Francisco 49ers: SAP Performance Facility | Rookies: 7/18 | Veterans: 7/25
Seattle Seahawks: Virginia Mason Athletic Center | Rookies: 7/17 | Veterans: 7/24
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: AdventHealth Training Center | Rookies: 7/27 | Veterans: 7/28
Tennessee Titans: Vanderbilt Health Football Center | Rookies: 7/23 | Veterans: 7/28
Washington Commanders: Commanders Park | Rookies: 7/24 | Veterans: 7/28
The NFL has announced the full list of joint practices that will take place during training camps this summer.
The first set of them will take place on August 11 in four different locations. The Cowboys and Rams will practice in Los Angeles, the Colts will visit the Patriots, the Bucs will work out at the Jets’ facility and the Titans will go to Santa Clara to practice with the 49ers.
All in all, there will be 28 teams working in joint sessions in August. The Lions, Steelers, Chiefs and Broncos are the teams that will not hold joint practices.
The full list of joint practices is below with the host team listed second. If there are multiple practices scheduled, the date of the first practice is listed.
August 11 — Cowboys-Rams; Colts-Patriots; Buccaneers-Jets; Titans-49ers.
August 12 — Dolphins-Commanders.
August 13 — Jaguars-Saints.
August 18 — 49ers-Chargers; Raiders-Texans; Saints-Cowboys.
August 19 — Falcons-Colts; Ravens-Vikings; Panthers-Jaguars; Eagles-Patriots.
August 20 — Bills-Browns; Bears-Bengals; Saints-Rams; Giants-Dolphins.
August 21 — Seahawks-Titans.
August 25 — Buccaneers-Jaguars.
August 26 — Cardinals-Packers; Texans-Panthers; Commanders-Ravens.
August 27 — Bears-Titans.
Tyler Shough’s preparation for his first full season as the Saints’ starting quarterback includes a little help from the franchise’s most successful signal caller.
When Shough outlined his plans for the weeks leading up to training camp at the end of the team’s offseason program, he shared that he has been working with Drew Brees to set up time to work out with his teammates in San Diego.
“Drew is kinda helping us set up our QB/wide receiver throwing retreat,” Shough said. “We’re getting all the guys to come down there and just work and bond together. For me, it’s just kind of continuing to study the playbook and then just put my feet and my eyes in the right position. That’s my whole focus.”
Shough told Katherine Terrell of ESPN that Brees “might be there for a little bit,” but the main point of the gathering will be for the current Saints to hit the ground running as they try to build on a promising close to Shough’s rookie year.
The Saints didn’t make the playoffs in 2025, but their play in the second half of head coach Kellen Moore’s first season in New Orleans created some positive buzz heading into the 2026 season.
That buzz only extended to certain players, however, and right guard Cesar Ruiz was not one of them. Ruiz was a frequent target for criticism from the team’s fans and General Manager Mickey Loomis said the team needs more out of a player he drafted in the first round in 2020.
Ruiz has heard all of it and he said “challenge accepted” in regard to his approach to the coming season.
“I got a lot of disrespect,” Ruiz said, via Matthew Paras of NOLA.com. “And ultimately, I’m not a guy who goes into his turtle shell and blames the world for what’s going on. You’ve got to go figure out how to change the narrative and how to go out there and make it happen. So that’s what I’m doing and I’ve made it happen.”
The Saints drafted guard Jeremiah Wright in the fourth round this year, so a failure to change the narrative may mean someone else gets a starring role in the next Saints production.
A year after Philip Rivers returned to the NFL at the age of 44, could Drew Brees do it at 47?
Asked on Bussin’ With The Boys if he could still make it happen, Brees said his throwing arm is so shot after his long NFL career that he now throws better with his left arm.
“I would know where to throw it, I just don’t know if I could get it there,” Brees said. “That’s one lingering effect from the shoulder surgery. I don’t throw with my right arm anymore. I actually throw left handed. I started doing that toward the end of my career with my kids, because I’d come home after a long day of practice, I didn’t have anything left in my right arm, but the boys wanted to play catch so I’d throw left handed. I’m pretty mean inside 30 with this left arm.”
Few arms have thrown as many footballs as Brees’ right arm, as he retired with more than 10,000 NFL pass attempts, plus another 2,000 or so in high school and college, and many thousands in practice. Now his left arm is getting the work — but not at a level that would allow him to play as a 47-year-old.
If/when the NFL explores whether a Terrelle Pryor-style suspension should be imposed on quarterback Brendan Sorsby after the supplemental draft, the Kayshon Boutte precedent points to no punishment.
The Hunter Dekkers precedent does, too.
Dekkers, who re-signed with the Saints this week, missed the entire 2023 college football season after losing his NCAA eligibility for betting on one of his team’s games. With his NCAA eligibility permanently vacated, Dekkers played for Iowa Western Community College in 2024 before entering the draft. The NFL imposed no roadblocks to his professional career, before or after the 2025 draft.
After going undrafted, Dekkers spent most of the 2025 season with the Saints. He played for the Houston Gamblers of the UFL in 2026.
While at Iowa State, Dekkers had made more than 350 bets on his mother’s DraftKings account. In 2021, he made a $15 wager on Iowa State to beat Oklahoma State. Dekkers did not play in the game.
He eventually pleaded guilty to underage gambling in Iowa.
“I wasn’t throwing games, I wasn’t shaving points, and I would never do that,” Dekkers told ESPN last year, in the weeks before the 2025 draft. “There was never any intent behind any of these bets. We weren’t trying to make money. We were just treating it like a video game, in a sense.”
That’s the basic reality of an age in which gambling has become legalized — and normalized. The ads are everywhere. It’s inescapable. Sports fans are constantly bombarded with picks and parlays and the presumption that betting is fun. It’s very easy for anyone to pick up a phone, open an app, and press a few buttons.
Everyone can eat the forbidden fruit, expect the players who are watering the tree. There inevitably will be some that take a little taste, or more. Not to get rich. Just to chase that tiny thrill of vicarious victory.
Dekkers obviously paid the price at the college level. Sorsby did, too. The NFL’s decision not to suspend Dekkers or Boutte should lead to the same result with Sorsby.
There’s no guarantee it will. The five-game suspension of Terrelle Pryor still lingers, 15 years later. As to Sorsby, the league will do whatever it wants to do.
Given what the NFL didn’t do to Kayshon Boutte and Hunter Dekkers, the NFL shouldn’t do anything to Brendan Sorsby.
The Saints will be adding two of their former players to the franchise’s Hall of Fame during the 2026 season.
The team announced that running back Mark Ingram and offensive tackle Terron Armstead will be honored at an induction ceremony at one of the team’s home games.
Ingram was a first-round pick in 2011, played for the Saints through 2018 and then returned to play his final two seasons in New Orleans before retiring after the 2022 season. Ingram ranks second in Saints history with 6,500 rushing yards and 52 rushing touchdowns.
Armstead was a third-round selection in 2013 and remained with the Saints until 2021. He started 102 regular season and playoff games during that time and was selected to three Pro Bowls.
