Stephen A. Smith has by no means shied away from saying what he thinks within the media, however he has taken offence to what one NFL participant needed to say after his recreation on the weekend.
Week 4 of the 2026 NFL season is now within the books and there have been numerous upsets throughout the league, with the unbeaten Buffalo Payments dropping towards the stuttering New England Patriots. That recreation noticed important backlash for Payments security C. J. Gardner-Johnson.
Patriots vast receiver Efton Chism III secured the game-winning landing with a surprising one-handed catch. Nonetheless, the Payments’ security was not keen to pay Chism an excessive amount of respect after the sport, with some pretty ignorant feedback.
“An elevated man made a [great] of a catch – most likely gained’t hear from him once more. … A observe squad participant made a hell of a play. That’s all I’m going to let you know. You do it once more, and he most likely gained’t make it once more,” he stated after the sport.
This has seen plenty of criticism aimed in the direction of Gardner-Johnson, with Smith the most recent to have his say on the protection’s feedback.
Stephen A. Smith tears into disrespectful C. J. Gardner-Johnson
Throughout the recreation on Sunday, Chism racked up 43 yards for the Patriots over the 2 receptions made. Nonetheless, Gardner-Johnson couldn’t assist himself however intention a transparent dig in the direction of the lesser-known wideout.
“It was a classless response on his half. He misplaced, and also you got here throughout as a sore loser. To go at Chism like that, that’s sort of jacked up,” Smith stated on First Take.
“To begin with, he’s by no means been on the observe squad. He’s undrafted, however he’s made the 53-man roster. He’s by no means been on the observe squad. Present some respect to considered one of your contemporaries. Present some respect to the competitors since you misplaced on a Sunday afternoon when it’s best to have gained the sport.”
The Payments stay in a strong place this season regardless of the loss, however there’s a clear gulf at school between somebody like the protection and quarterback Josh Allen, who confirmed significantly extra grace in his post-game interviews.
Gardner-Johnson created plenty of pointless noise surrounding his workforce following the loss, with an enormous recreation arising on Monday Evening Soccer towards the Los Angeles Rams.
Smith additionally wished to make it clear that Gardner-Johnson shouldn’t be spoken about as if he’s a no one due to his feedback about Chism.
“What I’m not going to do, nevertheless, whereas declaring it was a classless response (and it’s a response that C.J. Gardner-Johnson shouldn’t have made), is have individuals speaking about him like this dude is a few scrub,” he added.
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