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C.J. Gardner-Johnson went down at training camp today for the Detroit Lions. One of their top offseason acquisitions this year was the star defensive back, who was supposed to help shore up their porous defense. He may not be available this year, though.
Per Tom Pelissero, the star defender went down on the field and has been diagnosed with a non-contact knee injury.
Reports state:
"Veteran Lions DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson went down with a right leg injury Monday & was carted off the field. He was visibly upset and team captains Buggs and Goff made it a point to go comfort him. Hoping for better news than it looked."
Given that Gardner-Johnson was visibly upset and that it was a non-contact injury, things don't look good. Non-contact knee injuries often turn out to be much worse than other injuries. Most of the time, they end up being an ACL injury, which would cost him the entire season.
The Lions had an awful defense last year and they narrowly missed out on the playoffs at the end of the season. They spent draft picks and were able to sign some free agents on that side, including Gardner-Johnson.
Now, they may be without their prized acquisition. The best-case scenario still likely sees the cornerback missing a chunk of this season.
Latest update on C.J. Gardner-Johnson's injury
As per ESPN's Field Yates, the Lions' DB hasn't suffered a significant injury. Here's what he said:
"The MRI on Lions S C.J. Gardner-Johnson revealed no structural damage to his knee and he is considered day-to-day at this time, I’m told. Great news for a huge part of Detroit’s reshaped secondary after Gardner-Johnson left practice earlier today."
How much did C.J. Gardner-Johnson sign for?
Fortunately, the Detroit Lions didn't sink too much money into the signing of C.J. Gardner-Johnson. They signed him for one season and just $6.5 million.
That salary isn't huge, so it's not as if they've wasted a major chunk of their cap space. However, since it's a one year deal, the one season he might end up missing could be his only one with the Lions. Thus, the money would be wasted in that sense.
For now, there's been no official diagnosis on what Gardner-Johnson went down with, but it surely does not look good.
