Bills' C.J. Gardner-Johnson trash talks C.J. Stroud after win, but has cooler head in locker room

How resentful is C.J. Gardner-Johnson of his three weeks with the Houston Texans last season? Well, it depends. Do you want to judge his feelings off what he yelled in the tunnel fresh off the Buffalo Bills ' win over his former team Sunday at Reliant Stadium or what he said more calmly after being given time to compose himself?

Shortly after helping the Bills beat the Houston Texans 36-31 Sunday at Reliant Stadium, the safety shouted his feelings about Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud while walking up the tunnel to a celebratory visiting locker room. About 20 minutes later, while getting dressed in front of his locker stall, he was more measured with his words.

"Y'all want to spend money on C.J. now?" Gardner-Johnson yelled repeatedly in the tunnel after putting one hand up to his throat in a choking motion shortly after Stroud fumbled on the Texans' final offensive play of the game after driving inside the Buffalo 20 in the final minute with the game on the line.

As he enters his fourth year in the league, Stroud has had much-talked about contract extension discussions with the Texans. He led the Texans' offense to a 31-point day against Gardner-Johnson and the Bills, likely doing nothing to dissuade his team from giving him a new deal. That didn't stop Gardner-Johnson from letting his words fly.

The 28-year-old safety had a bitter exit from Houston almost exactly a year ago. During training camp last month, he spoke openly about feeling disrespected by how the Houston Texans handled his release last September. After unleashing in the tunnel, Gardner-Johnson wasn't as free with his words in front of his locker, but he did drop some hints about his feelings.

"Bittersweet times for me from here," Gardner-Johnson said. "(Today), I really was just focused on being a great team player and playing within my team."

That last sentence likely was a targeted response, because when the Texans released him after last season's 0-3 start, a source told the Houston Chronicle that a major reason for sending him packing was his unwillingness to play within Houston's defensive scheme. There also were reports of him failing to mesh with his teammates on the field, often getting caught out of position.

In his chance at payback, Gardner-Johnson didn't make any game-changing plays, but he didn't get beat and he recorded eight tackles, which was third on the team. After the game, he continuously hammered home that he was playing within his role on his new team.

"Kept the ball in front of me and got my teammates lined up," he said. "I feel like I give myself fully to God and changing the picture and image of my life. All that other s- don't matter no more."

Gardner-Johnson didn't take the bait even when he was asked if there was an extra cherry added to the top of a Week 1 victory when the team that discarded him a year ago, struggled defensively, giving up the most points its allowed since surrendering 37 in a November 2023 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Instead, he smiled, then turned around to pull an iPad out of his bag to show his favorite Bible verse from the book of Romans.

"I don't want to recite it word-for-word, but I just know you can't separate the love from God that he's got for me and the faith he put in me to go out there and play within my team," said Gardner-Johnson, again hitting on the teamwork point. "Everybody looks at me to be this rah-rah guy and give y'all bulletin board (material) all week. I didn't say anything. I told y'all that you would see on Sunday that I was going to be the best football player on the field, which I probably proved it. Who cares?"

A year ago, Gardner-Johnson was weeks away from nearly being out of the sport. When he got released by the Texans just three weeks into the season, he sat out two weeks before getting signed to the Baltimore Ravens practice squad only to get released again. He eventually finished the year with the Chicago Bears and played well enough to earn a one-year, $6 million contract with Buffalo in the offseason.

As he packed his stuff to leave Reliant Stadium once again, this time with a new team, Gardner-Johnson didn't want to reflect too much on where he was 12 months ago.

"I'm just happy, bro," he said. "I'm not just happy to be a football player. I'm happy to be in a spot where we all got the same common goal."