The Detroit Lions are one of the most intense teams in the league. When your head coach downs a giant coffee order every morning and listens to Metallica, that’s to be expected. But what Dan Campbell has built isn’t just an “all gas, no brakes” culture, it’s one that is based on his words, “controlled fury.”
That’s the difference between the Lions being a powder keg and one of the best teams in the NFC. Even when Detroit safety Morice Norris was too physical in an early training camp practice, Campbell kicked him out instead of letting things get out of control. But that also led to some good players taking their baggage elsewhere.
Former Lions safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson has earned the reputation of a loose cannon during his career and it’s led him to his fourth team in the past five seasons. Now with the Houston Texans, Gardner-Johnson has been back at it, nearly causing a brawl in his new team’s training camp.
Stover pushed C.J. Gardner-Johnson and words were exchanged. The two players had to be separated.
— Jonathan M Alexander (@jonmalexander) August 5, 2025
Former Lions DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson Up to His Old Tricks with Texans
According to the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan M. Alexander, Gardner-Johnson was involved in an altercation with tight end Cade Stover that nearly sparked a fight at Texans training camp. The play began when Gardner-Johnson drove Stover into the ground on a reception during practice and Stover took exception to it.
When Stover got up, he pushed Gardner-Johnson and “words were exchanged” before the two players were separated. We don’t know what was said during the exchange but based on Gardner-Johnson’s past, it’s unlikely they were something like “Nice hit,” or “Good job.”
Gardner-Johnson has become one of the best safeties in the game. He posted a career-high overall grade of 77.0 and coverage grade of 85.7 with the Philadelphia Eagles last season and led the league with six interceptions in 2022.
But there’s a reason the Eagles moved to trade him to the Texans last spring. The 27-year-old has been labeled as one of the biggest trash talkers in the league and was fined over $100,000 last season. He also had harsh words for his lone season with the Lions in 2023, calling his personal experience “hell” and claiming the Lions had lied to him after he suffered a pectoral injury in the opening week of the season.
“It was hell,” Gardner-Johnson told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “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. And offseason went real for me, signing back here, because I wasn’t really tripping on it. It all worked out.”
With his feuds expanding to Taylor Swift fans after mocking Travis Kelce during last February's Super Bowl parade, maybe Stover simply mentioned that he was a big fan of The Eras Tour or that “The Tortured Poets Department” is his favorite album. Either way, it was just another example of why teams are willing to pass on Gardner-Johnson despite his on-field success.