The Detroit Lions look like a totally different team than they did just a few years ago, but the same is true for a lot of teams in the NFL. It’s a sport with a lot of turnover, and unless a player is really a “franchise” staple, there’s a good chance that he’ll get traded at some point in his career.
Such is the case with plenty of Lions players. Now, when a player gets traded, there can be some hard feelings, but it’s not personal and it’s not even always about that player’s performance. Sometimes, franchises just need help in different positions, so they end up trading great players to fill holes in their lineups.
Now, one former Detroit Lions player is opening up about a recent trade, and he doesn’t sound too happy about it. That player is C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
Ex-Detroit Lions Player Doesn’t Sound Happy
The Detroit Lions signed Gardner-Johnson during the 2023 free agency period, and it looked like a good deal at the time. He was coming off a successful season with the Eagles and appeared to be a good fit. But, Gardner-Johnson was out for a lot of the 2023 season because of an injury, and in general, it just didn’t work out.
So, Gardner-Johnson parted ways with the Lions in 2024 and got a deal with the Eagles again. Now, Gardner-Johnson is talking about his latest trade, which saw the Eagles trade him to the Houston Texans.
On the Tuesday, July 15, episode of The Pivot podcast, co-host Ryan Clark asked Gardner-Johnson why he wasn’t with the Eagles anymore. In Gardner-Johnson’s defense, that’s like basically begging him to say something negative about his former team.
“Scared of a competitor,” Gardner-Johnson said. “Simple as that.” Then, when asked what he meant, Gardner-Johnson said, “You can’t program a dawg.”
“We had a little scrum at practice,” Gardner-Johnson added. “Nothing, just offense versus defense, but who’s the culprit of it? Me. I guess, because we’re competing. Well, you tell me the period is live. You’re telling us not to compete during a live period, but it’s a live period, and we’re getting ready for a playoff game?”
Former Lions Player Had a ‘Similar Tone’ About Detroit
In a piece published on Wednesday, July 16, by Brad Berreman of SideLion Report, Berreman notes, “What Gardner-Johnson has said about the Eagles trading him has hit a similar tone to his complaints about his year with the Lions. If the Texans decide to move on after one season, he will surely use any platform he gets next offseason to extend his scorched Earth tour.”
Back in February, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press asked him about his time with the Lions, and Gardner-Johnson did not sound pleased.
“I got lied to, so it was, whatever. I got told, respectfully, I was going to get brought back and didn’t get brought back” he said. “And offseason went real for me, signing back here because I wasn’t really tripping on it. It all worked out.”
Getting traded can be a tough thing, and it sounds like it got to Gardner-Johnson. Here’s hoping his time with the Texans is fruitful and doesn’t give him more reason to blow off steam.
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