C.J. Stroud Reacts to Texans' Release of C.J. Gardner-Johnson

The Houston Texans made a notable shift on the defensive side of the ball leading up to their Week 4 game vs. the Tennessee Titans with their release of veteran safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, their trade acquisition from the Philadelphia Eagles six months ago, who now resides on the free agent market a quarter of the way into the new season.

The news initially would shake up headlines a bit upon its announcement. On paper, Gardner-Johnson is a solid safety who started in the back-end of a Super Bowl-winning secondary less than a year ago, appeared to be settling into his new role with Houston, with not many whispers of that split being in play.

However, the Texans would decide to sever ties, with reports eventually surfacing of Gardner-Johnson having locker room concerns and emerging questions within his fit in Houston's defensive scheme; a trade request even being rumored to have been voiced by Gardner-Johnson before his release.

With those factors in play, the release begins to make sense from the Texans' perspective. But when asking quarterback C.J. Stroud about the recent move to part ways with Gardner-Johnson, he didn't feel quite as strongly about his locker room concerns.

"I don't really think I felt like that, or the team," Stroud said of Gardner-Johnson not being a good locker room fit. "I think they had their own reasons, Nick [Caserio] and DeMeco [Ryans]. As a team, we brought him in; he was a part of the locker room. All of the team is close, like, we all hang out with one another... I thought he did well with his DBs, so that's not really my position to speak on that."

Stroud, typically known as being an exemplary teammate, clearly has Gardner-Johnson's back, despite the turbulence that may have unraveled following his eventual release.

The Texans quarterback also made it clear that even while it might not have worked with the Texans, he's always going to be one to have his back.

"I like Ceedy as a person. I think he's growing as a man. He's trying to find a relationship with God, which I think is dope," Stroud said of Gardner-Johnson. "So, yeah, I wish him nothing but the best, and I'm going to always be here for him if he ever needs me. I'm always going to be a fan of him."

While an exciting experiment to try to bring in the Super Bowl-winning safety, the Texans decided it was time to call it quits. Gardner-Johnson finishes his time in Houston with three games under his belt, 15 total tackles, and zero passes defended or intercepted.

Looking forward, the Texans will have their safety unit led out by Calen Bullock and M.J. Stewart, while the injured duo of veteran Jimmie Ward and rookie Jaylen Reed continue to work their way back to full health.

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