C.J. Gardner-Johnson calls out Deebo Samuel again, calls him a running back

Are you waiting for the next salvo in this C.J. Gardner-Johnson social media war with Deebo Samuel? It’s scintillating dialogue between these two NFL players.

If you’re new to this verbal scuffle, the two haven’t liked each other since the NFC Championship game. Gardner-Johnson is a safety for the Lions, while Samuel is a hybrid receiver/running back for the 49ers. Gardner-Johnson switched teams in the offseason. He played for the Eagles in the title game when they beat up on the 49ers. You could probably attribute the loss to quarterback Brock Purdy tearing a tendon in his elbow. He couldn’t do much beyond handing off the ball.

Meanwhile, Gardner-Johnson hasn’t played much for his new team. He’s on injured reserve and isn’t expected back for weeks. Although he’s eligible to come off the IR this week, the Lions probably will leave him be for a while. He tore his pec muscle last month in a game against the Seahawks.

The social media chatter started again this past weekend, when San Francisco lost their first game of the season. In a pre-game skirmish in Cleveland, Gardner-Johnson thought Deebo Samuel didn’t get tough until offensive tackle Trent Williams joined the pushing.

Gardner-Johnson posted a video taunting Deebo Samuel, saying he’s just a running back (horrors), while likening him to a little boy.

“Another thing, bro don’t be friendly when you see me,” Gardner-Johnson said. “Because you’d be so flashy … you have all that talk you’d be doing when we’re running around wherever it may be. Because I can guard you. You can’t run routes, you’re a running back. You’re a running back. I ain’t going to sit here and play with you, little boy. Just cause you’re bad and people gave you a little a little clout, man, you ain’t nothing, bro. Stop playing.”

Ouch, right?

Oh boy… #Lions C.J. Gardner is still talking trash to #49ers WR Deebo Samuel. Saying he's basically a "Running back" that can't run routes.

"Don’t be friendly when you see me."

"You can’t run routes, you’re a running back."https://t.co/4rNYWIZfEo pic.twitter.com/OpsWI7sGGM

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 17, 2023

Deebo Samuel’s last volley used a clown emoji and a clip of a fight. He added in the tweet “Boy stop playing before you get a rewind of this….. boy sit down.”

And Samuel may be missing games as well. He left the game against the Browns with a shoulder injury in the first quarter and didn’t return.

But who knows, maybe these two can carry on their jousting in an actual game, if both regain their health and the Lions and 49ers draw each other in the playoffs.