Detroit Lions’ CJ Gardner-Johnson sparks Twitter beef with 49ers receiver over pregame fight

DETROIT – Detroit Lions safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson sparked a Twitter beef with a 49ers wide receiver over video of a pregame fight from this weekend.

Gardner-Johnson has been out since Week 2 with a torn pectoral, and it’s unclear if he’ll return this season. But he’s remained active in his support for the Lions on social media.

After the Lions’ win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Gardner-Johnson posted a comment on Twitter (I know, I know, it’s technically “X” now) about a pregame fight between the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns.

The two teams got into a scuffle on the field involving Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, Trent Williams, Juan Thornhill, Elijah Moore, and several others.

Samuel bumped Thornhill with his helmet and gave him a little shove before backing off. Williams then came out of nowhere and blindsided Moore.

“You see Deebo run?” Gardner-Johnson posted. “Typical wide receiver behavior -- then act hard when Trent saves him.”

Samuel responded with a video from Nov. 1, 2020, when Gardner-Johnson was with the New Orleans Saints. Chicago Bears receiver Javon Wims punched Gardner-Johnson in the helmet several times, and Gardner-Johnson barely reacted.

“Boy, stop playing before you get a rewind of this,” Samuel posted. “Boy sit down.”

“Trent can’t save you when you see me,” Gardner-Johnson replied. “On and off the field! Carry on.”

This is Gardner-Johnson’s first season with the Lions, so I’m not sure if he and Samuel have some sort of history. But if the Lions and 49ers do happen to meet in the playoffs (they don’t play during the regular season) and Gardner-Johnson returns from injury, this could be a fun subplot.

Dan Campbell and the Lions have created a “don’t back down” culture, and nobody embodies that better than Gardner-Johnson. Social media spats might not be exactly what Campbell had in mind, but hey, it’s all part of the mentality.