The ejection of Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson for spitting on an opponent raises an interesting question, as it relates to the additional discipline to be imposed by the league office.
Last year, the NFL adopted a new approach to spitting. It now results in a one-game suspension, sort of.
It started when Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter spit on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott before the first play from scrimmage in the regular-season opener. Because Carter’s ejection covered the entire game, his punishment — a fine in the amount of a game check — simulated a suspension.
Later in the season, Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase spit on Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey. The officials didn’t see it, so Chase wasn’t ejected. Instead, he was suspended for the next game.
For Gardner-Johnson, the ejection caused him to miss half of the Week 6 game against the Raiders. Will he be suspended for another full game? Will the league fashion an NCAA-style targeting punishment that keeps him out for the first half of the Bills’ next game?
Because Buffalo has a Week 7 bye, the clock isn’t ticking as loudly as it ordinarily would be. Still, the league has a decision to make given the new precedent that was set in 2025, when the punishment for spitting morphed from a fine into a suspension. And Gardner-Johnson presents the first example of a player who missed roughly half of a game after being ejected.
