The Lions hope to have C.J. Gardner-Johnson back on the field later this season. He'll make himself heard when he returns.
Few NFL players, if any, talk as much smack as Gardner-Johnson, the safety who joined the Lions this year after four seasons with the Saints and Eagles. In fact, his own peers voted him the biggest trash talker in the league in an anonymous player poll conducted by The Athletic.
Gardner-Johnson garnered a quarter of the votes in that category (among 71 responses), with one player saying, “I think that’s just kind of like his schtick. I don’t know if it necessarily works, but it’s what he reverts to.”
The next-closest vote-getter was Dolphins cornerback back Jalen Ramsey, followed by Eagles defensive end and former Michigan star Brandon Graham and Titans defensive end Jeffery Simmons.
Gardner-Johnson hasn't played this season since tearing his pectoral muscle in Week 2, but he made his presence felt when he was on the field. After one particularly vocal day in training camp during joint practices with the Jaguars, Gardner-Johnson said, "Everybody knows me to talk, but if you can back it up, you can talk as much shi — as much crap as you want to.
"I think when I play at a high level, it feeds into my teammates," he said.
As Gardner-Johnson was talking, Jaguars receiver Calvin Ridley, who's had a friendly rivalry with Gardner-Johnson dating back to their high school days, walked past and said, "He's a good player, man, but he just talk too damn much!"
"Facts!" said Gardner-Johnson. "Facts!"
Gardner-Johnson, who underwent surgery on his pec in September, remains bullish about returning this season. If he does, Dan Campbell said Monday it won't be any time soon.
"It would be a very, very fast recovery. But I love where his head’s at. You have to think that and be positive because I think that does lead to quicker healing if you allow yourself to think that way," Campbell said.
When asked about Gardner-Johnson's suggesting he could be back in the next few weeks, Campbell cracked, "Well, I want to talk to the doctor he’s talking to."
"No, listen, that's Ducey. He's upbeat, positive, hard-working, and that’s what we love about him. I don’t foresee that, but yet man, never say never, I’m not going to do that," said Campbell. "He may have mutant genes. He’s like Wolverine."