Getty Detroit Lions defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson reacted to a pregame fight involving San Francisco 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel during Week 6.
Defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson is currently on injured reserve for the Detroit Lions. But he’s still finding ways to talk trash.
On October 15, he went viral with a tweet reacting to behavior from San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel. The wideout was involved in a pregame scuffle with the Cleveland Browns during Week 6.
“U see Deeboo Run,” Gardner-Johnson wrote with multiple emojis in a tweet. “Typical WR behavior … then act hard when Trent save him.”
Gardner-Johnson used the quote tweet option, which attached the video he was referencing below his tweet. In the video, it appeared Samuel was backpedaling away from the Browns players until 320-pound 49ers left tackle Trent Williams interfered.
49ers WR Deebo Samuel Responds to C.J. Gardner-Johnson
Gardner-Johnson didn’t tag Samuel in his tweet, but Samuel clearly saw it. He responded to the defensive back’s tweet with his own video clip of when Gardner-Johnson, who was with the New Orleans Saints at the time, took a punch from Chicago Bears wide receiver Javon Wims during Week 8 of the 2020 season.
“Boy stop playing before you get a rewind of this … boy sit down,” tweeted Samuel with the video.
Samuel seemed to be attacking Gardner-Johnson for not punching back at Wims. But if Gardner-Johnson had punched back, officials would have undoubtably ejected him from the game. Wims did receive an ejection for his punch.
Similar to what he did October 15, Gardner-Johnson used social media to troll Wims after the 2020 incident.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson responded to Javon Wims’ punches via Instagram saying it was a “cheap shot” and that Wims “punch like a female.”
No punches were thrown between the Browns and 49ers before their Week 6 contest. But Samuel didn’t appear to stand his ground in the scrum. Gardner-Johnson did stand his ground in the incident with Wims even after getting punched.
It was not a great day for Samuel and the 49ers on October 15. The wide receiver left during the first half with a shoulder injury. Williams also exited with an injury but returned.
The Browns defeated the 49ers, 19-17, to give San Francisco its first loss of the season.
Garder-Johnson Eligible to Return From Injured Reserve
The veteran defensive back went down with a pectoral injury during Week 2. NFL players must spend at least four games on injured reserve before returning.
That means Gardner-Johnson is actually eligible to return against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7.
There is no indication that will occur, but head coach Dan Campbell definitely left open the possibility of Gardner-Johnson playing again this season when the injury initially happened.
“The reports that we’ve gotten back on it is that it was a very clean injury and that’s normally good for surgery, recovery, all of those things,” Campbell told reporters when talking about Gardner-Johnson on September 20. “So I certainly think there’s a chance that we get him back.”
Lions fans certainly want him back for the team’s defense. But after the Twitter exchange with Samuel, the NFL wants him to return for a potential Lions-49ers showdown.
Detroit and San Francisco are not scheduled to play each other during the regular season. However, both teams are 5-1, which is tied with the Philadelphia Eagles for the best record in the NFC.
Gardner-Johnson and Samuel, who faced each other in the NFC Championship Game last season when Gardner-Johnson was on the Eagles, could very well square off again in another playoff game this January.