C.J. Gardner-Johnson rips Baker Mayfield in NSFW rant after Lions' 31-23 win vs Bucs - "Tossed that b**ch back at you"
C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Baker Mayfield had a heated Sunday. During their NFC divisional playoff game, Detroit Lions safety intercepted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, the first of his two in the game, then flipped the ball towards him and shouted in his face on the sidelines:
The Lions won 31-23 after the second interception of Mayfield, this time by Derrick Barnes. As he was driving home, Gardner-Johnson went to Instagram Live to insult Mayfield more:
“That boy said we don’t watch film. And I tossed that b**ch back at you, too. I hope you got it, too. Make sure you send that with the jersey.”
A recap of C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Baker Mayfield's trask talk before Lions-Buccaneers Divisional Round game
The C.J. Gardner-Johnson/Baker Mayfield feud began last week when the veteran safety said the NFC South champions' WR corps could benefit from a better quarterback than the No. 1 in 2018:
“If you give that Tampa group a good quarterback, that’s a great group: (Mike) Evans, (Chris) Godwin, (Russell) Gage.”
Mayfield reminded his foe on Wednesday that Russell Gage had suffered a season-ending knee injury during preseason camp:
“I don’t think he’s really watched film because he mentioned Russell Gage. ... He must be going off preseason stuff that the media was talking about.”
Undeterred, Gardner-Johnson tweeted that he had film of Gage, referencing his time with the New Orleans Saints (since deleted):
C.J. Gardner-Johnson ready to feud with Deebo Samuel again ahead of NFC championship game
With the divisional round taken care of, C.J. Gardner-Johnson has a new target in mind: Deebo Samuel.
The wide receiver's San Francisco 49ers survived the young Green Bay Packers 24-21 on Saturday to advance to the NFC championship game for the third straight time and fourth in five seasons, and now he looks set to resume his feud with the safety.
It began in October, when, after the 49ers stunningly lost at the Cleveland Browns, Gardner-Johnson claimed that Samuel had backed away and played coward during a pregame scuffle.
Samuel responded by sharing a clip of Gardner-Johnson being attacked by then-Chicago Bears wide receiver Javon Wims.
Gardner-Johnson then launched this Instagram Live rant:
"You better hope all that talk you be doing when we see you all, whatever (playoff) round it may be … because I can guard you. You can't run routes. You're a running back. I ain't gonna sit here and play with you, little boy."
Samuel brushed him off on "Up & Adams":
"It just sounds like he mad I got a little bag and a lot of money, and nobody knows who he is. I ain't going to speak too much on it. I mean, that s**t is over with. I was laughing the whole time."
Both of them will meet in the NFC championship game on Sunday. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. ET on Fox.