ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — You know that GIF of Tom Brady, seething so deeply on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers bench that he smashes his tablet to bits?C.J. Gardner-Johnson made him do that.His trash-talking antics and ball-hawking prowess have caused those around him to react abruptly. His belligerence prompted two opposing receivers — plus New Orleans Saints teammate Michael Thomas at practice — to throw punches at him.Every boss Gardner-Johnson played for has either traded him, declined to re-sign him or released him.When the versatile defensive back signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the Buffalo Bills in March, it made his seventh roster in three and a half years and fourth in the last 15 months despite being among the NFL’s most dangerous takeaway artists.A ruthless trash talker, skeleton-rattling tackler and serial confrontationist, Gardner-Johnson — or maybe more accurately his volcanic alter-ego, Ceedy Duce — wears people out.He has been accused of being self-absorbed, too much of a locker-room lawyer, unwilling to hold himself accountable. His welcome eroded in New Orleans after he was excused from training camp practices amid a contract squabble. His second turn with the Philadelphia Eagles included public friction with star cornerback and captain Darius Slay.Gardner-Johnson has been named the NFL’s most annoying player and its biggest trash talker in The Athletic’s anonymous annual player polls. He also has been fined 13 times for $194,924 over his seven NFL seasons.Beyond his rookie contract, he hasn’t been anywhere longer than a season. Last year alone, the Houston Texans dumped him after three games, and the Baltimore Ravens cut him from their practice squad after a week before he finally stuck with the Chicago Bears.“This is a scary statement for me: I make plays and still don’t know my future,” Gardner-Johnson said. “Guys who make plays have guaranteed futures. You’ve got guys running people over in their cars, DUIs, killing people, hitting females.“I make plays, but they say, ‘We’re only going to keep you for three months out the year.'”Gardner-Johnson, however, has won almost everywhere he has been.With five different defensive coordinators, countless schemes and all the various ways he has been used, Gardner-Johnson’s teams never have posted a losing record; they’ve missed the playoffs only once. He helped the Eagles reach the Super Bowl in the 2022 season, was not re-signed, then was brought back two years later for their Lombardi Trophy run.For a recent interview with The Athletic in the Bills’ field house, Gardner-Johnson didn’t want to sit. He wanted to walk while he talked. For the next half-hour, he paced along the practice field, frequently stopping when he wanted to emphasize his point.“One of the narratives is I’m a cancer in the locker room,” Gardner-Johnson said. “That just came out when? After Houston? Where was that after the Super Bowl loss? Where was that after the Super Bowl win? When we do our homework and really think about it, where have I been a cancer?“My grandma always told me, ‘You need to be patient to be cocky.’ That’s just what it is. I’ve been patient enough to be blessed, patient enough to win a Super Bowl. That’s my ultimate goal.“I’ve been slapped in the face by the business so many times to the point where it’s, like … I don’t look at other guys no more. I look at myself and how I can affect things, just go in the building, make plays.”