CJ Gardner-Johnson carted off at Texans Camp with apparent leg injury

ough news out of Houston and not the kind of injury update anyone wanted to see. Former Eagles safety CJ Gardner-Johnson was carted off the field Thursday morning at Texans training camp with what’s being described as a significant lower-leg injury.

The scene unfolded at The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia, where Houston is holding camp, and head coach DeMeco Ryans didn’t sugarcoat how it felt to watch.

CJ Gardner-Johnson carted off at Texans Camp with apparent leg injury

#Texans S CJ Gardner Johnson is down.

Got hurt after a play. He initially was laying on his stomach in pain as he smacked the floor.

He eventually rolled over. It’s a lower leg injury. There’s a cart out for him.

— DJ Bien-Aime (@Djbienaime) August 7, 2025

#Texans CJ Gardner Johnson was carted off. He did not walk to the sidelines or anything. He was carted off from the spot he was injured.

— DJ Bien-Aime (@Djbienaime) August 7, 2025

CJ Gardner-Johnson went down after defending a John Metchie reception on the second drive for the offense. The team gathered around him with pure silence before he was taken off the field on a cart.

— Landry Locker (@LandryLocker) August 7, 2025

Worth noting — when the cart made it over to the entrance of the performance center, CJGJ needed help from two Texans staffers to get off the cart and walk inside. Not good. https://t.co/lfBp0gpmZb

— Sean Pendergast (@SeanTPendergast) August 7, 2025

“It’s heartbreaking when you see a guy go down on the field like that and doesn’t get up quickly,” Ryans said after practice. “I’m always nervous as a head coach any time I see somebody hit the ground. It’s tough to watch. We’ll see, we’ll evaluate where he is, but no update at this time.”

The Eagles traded Gardner-Johnson to the Texans back in March, just a year into his three-year deal after rejoining Philly for the 2024 season. The move came fresh off a Super Bowl LIX title run where C.J. was a key starter in the secondary.

The deal sent Gardner-Johnson and a 2026 sixth-round pick to Houston in exchange for offensive lineman Kenyon Green and a 2025 fifth-rounder. At the time, Howie Roseman cited long-term cap planning as the reason for moving on.

“Every dollar that you spend is a dollar less that you can spend on some of these younger players that maybe you want to retain. Getting out in front of it was important to us. And again, hard decisions,” Roseman said.

In his two seasons with the Eagles in 2022 and 2024, Gardner-Johnson was a playmaker, recording 12 interceptions and 20 pass breakups in 28 games. He was back in Philly just last month for the team’s championship ring ceremony.

While CJ Gardner-Johnson was penciled in as a starting safety for Houston, the Eagles are still figuring out who will line up next to Reed Blankenship this season. Rookie Cooper DeJean has been taking some safety reps in the base package, but the real competition is between Sydney Brown, Drew Mukuba, and Tristin McCollum.

All eyes will be on Houston’s injury report. CJ Gardner-Johnson’s swagger, energy, and ability to change a game made him a fan favorite in Philly and a player the Texans were counting on. If this injury is as bad as it looked, it’s a brutal setback for both him and Houston’s defense.

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