Deebo Samuel has had a chaotic 24 hours.
Before the start of 49ers-Browns, he and Brandon Aiyuk were at the center of a pre-game scuffle. Aiyuk was jumping up in front of some Browns players, got shoved, and then Samuel shoved back. Trent Williams came storming in and knocked the helmet off Browns receiver Elijah Moore to effectively end whatever was going on.
Samuel’s game was cut short by a shoulder injury he sustained early in the game. He played just nine snaps, and the 49ers struggled without him. Ray-Ray McCloud took on most of Samuel’s workload and had some struggles getting lined up, including a delay of game that seemed to be on him.
The 49ers went on to lose 19-17, and to add insult to injury, currently injured Lions safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson poked fun at Samuel on Twitter.
Gardner-Johnson insinuated that Samuel ran away from the scuffle and essentially used Williams as a shield.
“U see Deeboo Run ? Typical WR behavior … THEN ACT HARD WHEN TRENT SAVE HIM ??.”
Samuel proceeded to threaten Gardner-Johnson with an oddly-framed clip of the slap fight between him and former Browns wide receiver Javon Wims. The idea of a rewind is maybe not the best insult given that Wims whiffed on his first shot, backed up while Gardner-Johnson looked confused, then had to swing again. Wims is currently a free agent.
Gardner-Johnson responded by yawning.
“Deeboo , your not like that ??,” he wrote.
Both players are blowing smoke given the fact that Gardner-Johnson is possibly out for the season with a torn pectoral and the 49ers and Lions won’t play unless they meet in the playoffs… which is a real possibility. Gardner-Johnson hasn’t been completely ruled out for the rest of the season, so keep your eye on that if these two teams meet in January.