Sherman insists Deebo, Gardner-Johnson must back up trash talk originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Deebo Samuel and Detroit Lions safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson are making waves not for their performances on the field, but for their online spat off of it.
Gardner-Johnson originally criticized Samuel on X, formerly Twitter, for his role in a pregame scuffle with the Cleveland Browns last Sunday. Samuel then responded and the two began an online back-and-forth that lasted days.
Former 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman discussed the beef on Wednesday’s episode of “Undisputed,” where he and fellow commentator Skip Bayless each agreed that the budding rivalry is good for the game as long as it stays on the field and both players back up their talk with their play.
“I like it, that’s spice. I like that,” Sherman said. “As long as you keep it on the football field and what we’re doing on the football field. What gets me is when dudes are like ‘Let me catch you in the street …’
“Keep it on the football field and I’m good with it. C.J. Gardner-Johnson, I see you on that field, I’m going to give you that work. OK, Deebo will say the same thing back to him. Eventually, we’re going to see who’s talking and who’s doing the walking and that’s what I like. That’s what I like when you gotta talk and you gotta walk because Deebo’s going to catch him in the open field at some point or another and Deebo’s a physical player. C.J. Gardner-Johnson has had tiffs with guys in the past. I’m not mad at either guy.”
Bayless echoed a similar sentiment as Sherman while comparing Gardner-Johnson’s trash talk to that of Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks in the NBA because of how he isn’t afraid to punch (metaphorically) below the belt while backing it up with his play.
“For the most part, C.J. Gardner-Johnson has walked his talk,” Bayless explained. “He pushes people until they go completely over the edge. It’s happened four or five times in games where people just lost it because he talks them completely over the edge. He is a champion trash talker because he tends to go ‘below the belt.’
“He’s pushing the button trying to get him off his game, get him distracted … he’s saying whatever round we see you in as in the postseason.”
Gardner-Johnson, just like Samuel, is a five-year NFL veteran and has earned a reputation as one of the more talkative defensive backs in the league. After playing three seasons with the New Orleans Saints to begin his career, Gardner-Johnson was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles before the 2022 season where he faced off against Samuel and the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
While Samuel and the 49ers are scheduled to face off against the Eagles in a marquee Week 13 matchup, Gardner-Johnson and the 5-1 Lions are not on San Francisco’s regular-season schedule.
However, with the way both teams are playing, there’s a chance the two will get an opportunity to match up against one another in the playoffs.
