Bills safety Gardner-Johnson injures right leg during training camp practice

PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson is having tests to determine the severity of a lower right leg injury the eighth-year player sustained during a training camp practice on Saturday.

General manager Brandon Beane was unable to provide an update on Gardner-Johnson’s status immediately following practice by saying: “Until we get an MRI, we’ll see.”

About an hour into practice, Gardner-Johnson went down to both knees on the field in what appeared to be a non-contact injury and after defending against a pass play during team drills. A trainer immediately focused on the back of the player’s right foot.

Upon being helped up, Gardner-Johnson was initially unable to place any weight on his right leg, before eventually taking steps on it while being escorted to the medical tent. Soon after, the player was carted off to the locker room.

Gardner-Johnson was regarded as a key offseason free-agent addition , and expected to compete for a starting job in a revamped defense under new coordinator Jim Leonhard. Gardner-Johnson is noted for being a hard-hitting player, whose aggressive personality was considered a fit in Leonhard’s attacking-style vision.

The player has quickly been embraced by his teammates, and become a vocal leader in the secondary.

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