One of the first things everyone noticed about C.J. Gardner-Johnson during the early days of Detroit Lions training camp was his mouth. The defensive back is rarely silent, and his words are often pointed and brash.
Gardner-Johnson loves to talk trash. He once explained that to the Detroit media in an abrasive tone that could be interpreted as trash-talking. We quickly learned that’s just his default mode; it’s not hostile or mean, it’s just the preferred way of communication for the veteran defensive back.
It’s well-known around the league, too. In this year’s anonymous player poll from The Athletic, Gardner-Johnson was the runaway winner of the “biggest trash talker” portion of the survey. Of the 71 responses, “CJGJ” got nearly 25 percent of the votes.
Gardner-Johnson keeps on talking even though he’s injured. Witness his wildly profane rant on the Bears and his own playing status from Sunday.
