CJ Gardner-Johnson Is Changing His Name To 'Ceedy Duce'

Your CJ Gardner-Johnson jersey is going to need an update.

The Detroit Lions safety announced Friday that he will be changing his name to Ceedy Duce. And don't try to change his mind — court documents are already on the way!

"Ceedy," he said, is something he likes to be called, while "Duce" stems from his coaches calling him "Ducey." Probably because he wears No. 2.

Gardner-Johnson (er, Duce?) first announced this new name three years ago while playing for the New Orleans Saints. But apparently, he's just now making it official.

"Ceedy Duce. No more Chauncey or CJ Gardner-Johnson," he wrote in an Instagram story at the time. "Time to pave a way for my own imagine that I want no more judgement thoughts on me because you really don't know me, until you understand me as a person I wont speak unless spoken to."

Clearly, I don't understand him as a person because I have no idea what any of that means.

(Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)

But this isn't the first time CGJ has changed his name.

While playing college football for the Florida Gators, he went by Chauncey Gardner Jr. for his first two seasons. He changed his name to Gardner-Johnson before his junior year to honor his stepfather, Brian Johnson, who raised him.

CGJ was selected by the Saints in the fourth round of the 2019 draft. After three seasons in New Orleans, he spent 2022 with the Philadelphia Eagles before joining the Lions this past offseason. He was placed on injured reserve in September with a pectoral injury.

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