Lions C.J. Gardner-Johnson Changes His Name Again?

When C.J. Gardner-Johnson moved to Detroit in the spring, he was already in a different role. For the first time since having surgery on his pectoral, he is back in the city and has also revealed that he is changing his name.

Lions C.J. Gardner-Johnson Changes His Name Again?

Gardner-Johnson said on X (which has undergone a name change as well) that he is formally assuming the legal name of his alter persona, “Ceedy Duce.”

Gardner-Johnson declared, “I’m officially changing my name to Ceedy Duce.” “Court documents (on the way).”

“It’s a different person,” he said. “I got an alter ego. I got like two different people living in me, football and life. Life, I’m just chilling. Football, that’s a whole different person. People call me Ceedy on the football field or Ducey. In life, they call me C.J. or Chauncey.”

When Gardner-Johnson showed up to the Lions facility on Friday during practice and headed on the field, he stunned his teammates.

“He told us he was going to be here this week, but he popped up today on us out of the blue,” cornerback Jerry Jacobs said. “So to have that loudness and that funniness and all that around, it’s a great feeling so I was happy to see him.”

The safety, initially born Chauncey Gardner Jr. in Cocoa, Florida, has changed its name before. Following his successful time at the University of Florida, he officially changed his name to “Chauncey Gardner-Johnson” in 2017 in honor of Brian Johnson, his stepfather, who had reared him.

In the NFL, Gardner-Johnson ultimately experimented with his first name as well, trading in “Chauncey” for “C.J.”

Whatever you want to call him, he’s developed into one of the league’s most dangerous defensive backs at this level. He started out as a slot cornerback in New Orleans, where he was coached by Dan Campbell of the Lions and Aaron Glenn of the defensive coordinator staff. Then, in Philadelphia last season, he led the league in interceptions while playing safety.

Gardner-Johnson has been speaking as though he will make a comeback this season, according to Jacobs, who quoted Lions coach Dan Campbell’s comments from last month.

Safety Kerby Joseph of the Lions reported on Friday that Gardner-Johnson performed a pushup in front of teammates.

“He popped up, too,” Joseph said. “I’m like, ‘All right,’ but that’s what Florida boys do. We get hurt but we pop right back up.”

 

 

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