“I had more dark days than good days.”
That was one of the first things C.J. Gardner-Johnson said about his rehab from a torn pectoral muscle he suffered in the Detroit Lions’ Week 2 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. Gardner-Johnson would somehow finish the game with that injury, but he’s been on injured reserve since then.
Doctors originally told him it was a six-month recovery from that injury, leading him to believe there would be little-to-no chance of him playing again this season. But here we are, three-and-a-half months later, and Gardner-Johnson returned to the practice field Wednesday—on the same day he turned 26, ust as he promised three weeks ago.