Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield Responds to Shot Taken From Detroit Lions' C.J. Gardner-Johnson

The Buccaneers starting quarterback responded to C.J. Gardner-Johnson's shade thrown ahead of their Divisional Round matchup.

Things are already spicy for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Divisional Round matchup against the Detroit Lions. This comes just after the Buccaneers took a commanding win over the Philadelphia Eagles to build some momentum in the postseason. 

For the Lions, they defeated the Los Angeles Rams 24-23 in a tightly-contested battle that truly could have gone either way. 

Now, the two teams face off on Sunday which will be the second time the two teams have faced off this season. 

C.J. Gardner-Johnson Takes Shot at Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield Ahead of Detroit Lions Matchup

Lions defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson spoke about the matchup, of course, but just after praising the Buccaneers' wide receiver corps, he then bashed Baker Mayfield.

“This group probably is one of the better groups we done faced all year, besides that Tampa group,” Gardner-Johnson said. “If you give that Tampa group a good quarterback, that’s a great group. Evans, Godwin, (Russell) Gage, that’s a great group. I played against them for real.”

The backhanded compliment of the Buccaneers came at the expense of Mayfield, as Gardner-Johnson was insinuating that Mayfield isn't a good quarterback. 

Naturally, Mayfield was asked about the statement from Gardner-Johnson on Wednesday.

“I mean, I don't think he's really watched film because he mentioned Russell Gage. You know, we love Russell, but he hasn’t played a snap this year for us," Mayfield said. "He must be going off the preseason stuff the media was talking about but he didn't play our first game so I'm excited to see him. I think he's a really good player….just needs to do a little more film study."

Full quote from Baker Mayfield on Gardner Johnson’s comments that the #Bucs would be a good group with good QB.

“I mean, I don't think he's really watched film because he mentioned Russell Gage. You know, we love Russell, but he hasn’t played a snap this year for us. He must be… pic.twitter.com/MYh9SUSaZH

— JC Allen (@JCAllenNFL) January 17, 2024

In all fairness, the Buccaneers posted just six points in a 20-6 loss to the Lions earlier this season. Mayfield threw for 206 yards while completing 19 of his 37 passes in that game. The Buccaneers, though, are in a much different form now than they were then. 

Former Buccaneers Super Bowl Champion Running Back Cut From Buffalo Bills

Stick with BucsGameday and the Locked On Bucs podcast for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the 2023 season.

Follow BucsGameday on Twitter and Facebook