He’s back! The moment that Detroit Lions fans have been waiting for since all the way back in Week 2. The Lions have officially designated C.J. Gardner-Johnson to return from injury. Here’s what that means.
Gardner-Johnson can return to practice immediately on December 20th. That is the exact date that Gardner-Johnson teased back in November by the way. The answer has always been there. The Lions will then start the 21 day clock on him that same day. That means Gardner-Johnson has 21 days to be added to the active roster or he will have to return to injured reserve and be out for the season.
I would not expect Gardner-Johnson to play in Sunday’s game against the Vikings. Even knowing that it’s a huge game. I could certainly be wrong, but just going off the pattern of nearly every player that they have had return from injured reserve in the last three years, they pretty much always wait a week before throwing a guy out there. Considering that Gardner-Johnson hasn’t played since September, the Lions probably want to give him a week to get his feet underneath him and get back into the swing of things.
That would put Gardner-Johnson’s return to the field to next week when the Lions play the Cowboys. A team that Gardner-Johnson has some history with. He picked Dak Prescott off twice in an Eagles win over the Cowboys in October of last year. Can he do it again this year?