On Tuesday, the Texans made the unexpected announcement that they had cut safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Gardner-Johnson recorded 15 tackles in three starts without recording any interceptions or breakups.
In an attempt to acquire a ball hawk, the Texans dealt their 2022 first-round pick, left guard Kenyon Green, to the Philadelphia Eagles in March for Gardner-Johnson. Gardner-Johnson led the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory in 2024 with six interceptions.
Throughout the first three weeks of the season, the Texans, who are 0–3 so far, have had a number of huge plays against the secondary due to Gardner-Johnson’s difficulty understanding coach DeMeco Ryans’ defensive strategy.
When questioned about the communication amongst his secondary’s players on Monday, Ryans acknowledged that “it hasn’t been great.”
Ryans stated: “When you see a big play that happens on our defense, somewhere along the lines, there’s a bust in communication,”
“It all starts with communication, and it hasn’t been as crisp as it needs to be. We see that. We have to make some adjustments there to make sure we get it corrected.”
The Texans have lost three straight games by a margin of seven points or fewer.
