C.J. Gardner-Johnson blames Saints for DeVonta Smith's concussion - "Dirtiest sh*t I ever saw in football"
C.J. Gardner-Johnson called out his former team, the New Orleans Saints, over the concussion Philadelphia Eagles teammate DeVonta Smith suffered during Sunday's game.
The Saints and Eagles took a while to define the winner of this game, with the 2023 Super Bowl runner-up taking a 15-12 win dramatically. That said, the win came at a price as one of their best players, Smith, went down with an injury.
"That’s the dirtiest s--t I ever saw in football, bro. Y’all obviously saw that forward progression was stopped. And for them to take a cheap shot on one of our key guys, it shows what kind of team that is. They’re front-runners," Gardner-Johnson said to the media after the game.
The 25-year-old wideout left the game early in the fourth quarter following a collision with Saints defensive tackle Khristian Boyd. The referees didn't throw a flag on the play, but Smith had to leave the game and never returned. He was on the ground for several minutes after the hit, with teammates and head coach surrounding him until he got up and left the field.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson played the Saints for the first since he was traded to the Eagles in 2022, which could have made this game feel more personal to him. Smith caught seven passes from Jalen Hurts for 79 yards. He couldn't score, as Saquon Barkley took over the game and reached the end zone twice to give the Eagles a 15-12 win, the second of their season.
What did C.J. Gardner-Johnson teammates say about DeVonta Smith concussion?
Whenever these types of play occur, several people react. This one wasn't he exception, as C.J. Gardner-Johnson and DeVonta Smith's teammates shared their opinions on the incident.
Tackle Jordan Mailata said he was confused about whether Boyd tried to hurt Smith on purpose:
"Did I think it was dirty? Yeah. "Did I think it was intentional? No -- ah, I don't f---ing know. I've got to watch it. I'm conflicted as you can tell. I hope Smitty is OK."
Cam Jurgens added that it was frustrating to see a player like Smith going down this way.
"You see something like Smitty getting hurt today, that's frustrating," center Cam Jurgens said. "I hope everybody's all right. There were a lot of injuries, but it sucks when a player gets hit like that."
The Eagles will face the Buccaneers next week in a rematch of the 2023 wild-card round game.