Deebo Samuel and C.J. Gardner-Johnson aren’t scheduled to face each other this season, but that hasn’t stopped a war of words from brewing.
The tiff began on Sunday, when Gardner-Johnson, now a defensive back on the Lions, responded to a video of a skirmish between the Browns and 49ers.
In the video, Samuel, the San Francisco wide receiver, was involved in some pushing and shoving before kickoff in Cleveland.
“U see Deeboo Run,” Gardner-Johnson posted Sunday on X, with a laughing emoji.
“Typical WR behavior … THEN ACT HARD WHEN TRENT [WILLIAMS] SAVE HIM,” Gardner-Johnson continued, adding yawning emojis.
Samuel responded Sunday night by tweeting a video from 2021 of then-Bears wideout Javon Wims socking Gardner-Johnson with the message, “Boy stop playing before you get a rewind of this….. boy sit down,” adding a clown emoji.
Two days later, Gardner-Johnson responded and took a shot at Samuel’s route-running ability.
“Don’t be friendly when you see me,” Gardner-Johnson warned in an Instagram Live video. “Because I can guard you. You can’t run routes, you’re a running back.”
Samuel subsequently appeared on FanDuel TV’s “Up and Adams” on Wednesday.
Holding a toddler during the appearance, Samuel said he didn’t know why Gardner-Johnson had beef with him and called the IG Live clip “comedy.”
“He just sound like he’s mad I got a little bag and a lot of money and no one knows who he is,” Samuel said.
“I ain’t gonna speak too much on it. That s–t’s over. I was laughing the whole time.”
The only way this beef would get adjudicated on the field this season is if the Niners and Lions meet in the playoffs, which at the moment does not seem like the most farfetched possibility as it would take a major slide for either team not to make it into the postseason.