The Bills are the AFC's best team, by record, but they are cutting ties with a starter just seven games into the season.

Buffalo released safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson on Tuesday, just as his one-game suspension for spitting in the direction of an opposing player was ending.

The veteran started his first six games with the Bills before sitting out against the Ravens while suspended. Gardner-Johnson could've returned for Week 8, but Buffalo is going in a different direction with its secondary.

Here's what you need to know about Gardner-Johnson's release.

MORE: Why it took 2 years for Tom Brady to call first Patriots game

Bills release C.J. Gardner-Johnson after suspension

The Bills released Gardner-Johnson on Tuesday, ESPN's Cameron Wolfe reported, but the spitting incident reportedly isn't the driving factor behind the move.

Instead, Gardner-Johnson's "inconsistency in play" is what led to his release, Wolfe reported.

Bills are releasing safety CJ Gardner-Johnson, per source. It was CJ’s inconsistency in play that led to the release not as much the spitting incident that got him suspended. https://t.co/shKLBxD7ip

— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) November 3, 2026

It's rare for a player to go from starter to off the roster entirely, but the Bills were evidently satisfied with what they saw from their safeties with Gardner-Johnson out against the Ravens.

The spitting incident wasn't the first time Gardner-Johnson created negative headlines this season, as he called Patriots WR Efton Chism III a "practice squad player," among other negative sentiments, when Chism's heroic touchdown catch gave New England a win over Buffalo in Week 4.

How much of Gardner-Johnson's release is owed to distractions is unclear, but the Bills appear to be comfortable handing a larger role back to safety Damar Hamlin as the season presses on.

MORE NFL: