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| Texans Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson |
During a half-speed practice at the Greenbrier Sports Performance Center in West Virginia, Houston Texans safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson did what has come naturally for him during his time in the NFL. He recognized the offensive play and moved toward the ball, which was in the hands of former Texans wide receiver John Metchie III.
Gardner-Johnson, 27, made light contact with Metchie, who kept running through the minimal contact as Gardner-Johnson fell to his knees in pain.
He was eventually carted off back into the facility as his teammates shouted encouraging words towards him before meeting head coach DeMeco Ryans in the middle of the field to discuss what had transpired.
The rest of the practice had a melancholy type feel to it as the players continued to get their emotions in check after watching one of their teammates get injured on what many believed was a routine football play.
Although the outlook was initially not promising for a quick return of the former Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl champion safety, Texans fans received some good news on Monday about his comeback.
“C.J. [Gardner-Johnson] is doing really well, progressing fine,” said Ryans during his press conference. “We expect him to be ready for Week 1.”
With the Texans set to start their season against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the amount of playing time for Gardner-Johnson remains uncertain since he has missed nearly a month of training camp practices and all preseason games.
“We think he can help us,” said Texans Executive Vice President and General Manager Nick Caserio about Gardner-Johnson’s return. “We’ll see how much progress he makes. We’ll see how it goes. But ‘Ceedy’ is in a good spot. He’s worked really hard and made some progress. We’ll see when he’s ready to go.”