ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The NFL on Monday suspended Buffalo Bills safety C.J. Gardiner-Johnson for one game without pay for spitting in the direction of Las Vegas Raiders players on the field during a game a day earlier.
Gardiner-Johnson was ejected late in the second quarter for unsportsmanlike conduct following an exchange with a group of Raiders players, including tight end Brock Bowers.
In issuing the suspension, the league cited its rule applying to “any act which is contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship.”
With Buffalo (5-1) entering its bye week, Gardiner-Johnson’s suspension will begin on Oct. 26 and run through Nov. 2, a day after the Bills host the Baltimore Ravens. The player has the right to appeal the suspension.
Gardner-Johnson apologized to his teammates immediately following Buffalo’s 33-30 win, and has since posted a note on social media apologizing to fans.
“I owe my teammates an apology and to be a man about it,” Gardner-Johnson said following the game.
“You got to understand that as a grown man you can’t be doing (stuff) like that in a game,” he added. “As a vet, I’ll be better. I’ll take my consequences as it is, handle it like a man and move on.”
The 28-year-old won a Super Bowl with the 2024 Philadelphia Eagles and is on his sixth team in eight seasons, and signed a one-year contract with Buffalo in March.
Coach Joe Brady referred to Gardner-Johnson's spitting act as being “inexcusable," and said he's discussed the matter privately with the player.
“It can't happen. That's not what we're about. That's not what the game of football is about, and he knows that,” Brady said.
Gardner-Johnson arrived in Buffalo with an established reputation of being a noted trash-talker and as someone who has on occasion crossed the line with illegal hits.
“I don't need a roster of everybody being the same person,” Brady said. “Obviously, he crossed the line yesterday and that can't happen. It won't happen again. Personality-wise, I'm not afraid to have people who are going to try to toe the line in everything they do.”
Also, the Bills announced they're bringing back a familiar face by signing cornerback Tre'Davious White to their practice squad.
The 31-year-old White returns for what would be a third stint in Buffalo, and provide the Bills secondary with some much-needed experience. White was selected by Buffalo in the first round of the 2017 draft, and spent his first seven seasons with the Bills before his career was derailed by injuries.
After splitting the 2024 season between the Rams and Baltimore, he re-signed with the Bills and had 16 starts last season. He didn't rule out another return to Buffalo after completing his one-year contract last season.
The Bills reached out to White a few weeks ago and targeted the bye week for his return. Buffalo opened up a practice squad spot by releasing cornerback A.J. Woods.
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
Buffalo Bills running back Ty Johnson (26) runs past Buffalo Bills running back Ray Davis (7) after making a catch during an NFL football game in Las Vegas, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer (87) makes a catch in front of Buffalo Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (22) during an NFL football game in Las Vegas, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/David Becker)
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Fifth-generation Kansas farmer Glenn Brunkow describes this time of year as “go time,” when farmers are combining fields, hauling crops to town and moving livestock from summer pastures to their winter homes.
But this harvest season, they’re doing it with diesel prices more than $2.50 per gallon higher than a year ago, adding to financial pressures from rising costs, unpredictable markets and shrinking profits.
“It seems like it’s coming at us from all directions,” said Brunkow, president of the Kansas Farm Bureau.
The economic strain is becoming a growing political concern for Republicans in states they have long dominated. President Donald Trump appeared in Kansas on Monday and will go to Iowa later in the week, the latest in a series of stops where he's trying to energize his base in the final weeks before the midterm elections.
“In this election, I’m asking you to pretend please that I’m on the ballot," Trump told the Kansas crowd. He spoke for well over an hour, with protesters interrupting him several times.
The visits come as Republicans pour money into Senate races in Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa amid concerns about voter enthusiasm. The anxiety may be especially notable in Kansas — a state Trump won by 16 percentage points against Democrat Kamala Harris in 2024 — as Republican Sen. Roger Marshall faces a tough challenge from Democrat Adam Hamilton. Democrats have not won a Senate election in Kansas in 94 years.
Hamilton, the founder of the nation’s largest United Methodist church, has attracted Republican support in his Senate bid, including endorsements from two former GOP governors. In a video statement ahead of Trump’s visit, Hamilton said it was “an honor” to welcome a sitting president to Kansas.
"I want Kansans to know that if you voted for the president, you also have a place in my campaign,” he added.
Brunkow, whose organization endorsed Marshall, said he’s been asked many times whether the economic frustrations could drive Republican farmers to vote for Democrats.
“I don’t think it necessarily does that,” Brunkow said. “But I think it dampens the enthusiasm for agriculture producers to get to the polls.”
Don Hineman, a western Kansas rancher and former Republican state House majority leader, said he’s seeing growing frustration among GOP voters beyond just farmers, including some who have supported Trump in multiple elections.
He said farmers understand that Trump’s tariffs have hurt their businesses and are upset over the ongoing war with Iran. Immigration has also become a source of concern, particularly after recent immigration raids in western Kansas that resulted in the detention of more than 100 people.
“We need a secure border — we can all agree on that,” Hineman said. “But we also need workable immigration policy that provides the workforce that the United States has always depended on and will always continue to need.”
Hineman said the traditional Republican argument in Kansas — that electing Democrats would empower the party’s liberal wing — is losing its effectiveness with some voters, including himself.
“I am tired of being persuaded by charges that the boogeyman is going to get us,” he said. “I am so fed up with the Republican Party and their willingness to play sycophant to our current commander in chief that I’m willing to consider alternatives.”
Debbie Geneva, 61, of Nortonville, Kansas, said she was impressed by Hamilton after he visited a local market to meet people, something she hasn't seen Marshall do. She's never voted for a Democrat, she said, but remains undecided about the Senate race.
“I’ve never voted for a Democrat in my entire life, so that’s a little scary for me to be undecided,” said Geneva. "I told one of my friends that, and they can’t believe it, but that’s just the way I feel right now.”
Geneva said rising costs for healthcare and everyday expenses have added to her frustrations.
“And then of course the trade agreements," she added. “The Republicans haven’t done the Midwest any favors with that.”
Farmers have spent months feeling the squeeze as costs for inputs like diesel, fertilizer and seed have soared due to refinery constraints and supply disruptions tied to the Iran war.
Diesel averaged $6.30 per gallon nationwide on Friday, more than 70% higher than a year ago, according to motor club AAA. The surge has been especially painful during harvest season, when farmers depend heavily on fuel to operate machinery and transport crops.
“This is a time of year when we use a lot of fuel, and there just isn’t much we can do,” Brunkow said. “The margins are tight, and anything that cuts into that margin really hurts.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture projects that net farm income will decline by 2.6% this year as production expenses rise by 4.5%. Fuel and oil expenses alone are expected to jump nearly 30%, according to the agency’s September forecast.
Trump said Monday night that the Department of Agriculture will be launching a new harvest fuel relief program, claiming it will provide $8 billion in support for farmers to offset diesel costs.
“When Republicans win, we will pass even more funding for our farmers. We love our farmers,” Trump said.
Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order to ease limits on the tax-free use of red-dyed diesel, a decision he said would save “millions” for farmers. That came after a $12 billion aid package for farmers announced by the Trump administration in December.
But those efforts have not erased frustrations among some farmers who expected their financial outlook to improve under Trump.
Brunkow said many farmers “thought it would be better” under Trump.
“He’s made some unforced errors," said Brunkow.
Trump will travel on Thursday to Iowa, where Republicans are defending competitive races for governor and Senate. The state, which Trump has carried in three consecutive presidential elections, is another agricultural stronghold where economic frustrations have become part of the political debate.
In Nebraska, Senate Republicans have poured nearly $15 million into a race between GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts and independent candidate Dan Osborn, an unprecedented amount for a state Trump won by 20 percentage points in 2024.
David McIntosh, president of the influential Club for Growth, said his group has kept a close eye on the heavy agriculture states since summer and acknowledged concerns about a drop-off in enthusiasm. His group is spending millions of dollars for GOP candidates in Kansas, Nebraska and elsewhere.
“Farmers are squeezed between higher input prices and less of an international market because of retaliatory tariffs,” McIntosh said. “The economic environment has not been good.”
Democrats, meanwhile, see an opportunity in the economic frustrations, even in states where they have struggled to win statewide elections.
Former Sen. Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat who lost reelection in 2024, said there is “no doubt” that Democrats will perform better than expected in agricultural states.
“These guys got to pay bills at the end of the month, and for a number of months now it’s been hard to do,” said Tester. “This is way beyond politics.”
Cappelletti reported from Washington. Associated Press journalists Nick Ingram and Collin Binkley contributed to this report.
Police remove a protester as President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Heartland Credit Union Arena, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, in Park City, Kan. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Police remove a protester as President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Heartland Credit Union Arena, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, in Park City, Kan. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Ted Nugent speaks before President Donald Trump at a campaign rally at Heartland Credit Union Arena, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, in Park City, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., claps before President Donald Trump arrives at a campaign rally at Heartland Credit Union Arena, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, in Park City, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Heartland Credit Union Arena, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, in Park City, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Adam Hamilton, right, the Democratic Senate nominee in Kansas, answers questions posed by Bob Ross, left, the president of the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce, during a Meet the Candidate event sponsored by the chamber, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
Adam Hamilton, right, Democratic Senate nominee in Kansas, speaks with Curtis Sneden, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority, at a Meet the Candidate event sponsored by the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
President Donald Trump arrives at a campaign rally at Dalton Municipal Airport, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in Dalton Ga. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
