Tyrann Mathieu defends his status after being called out by C.J. Gardner-Johnson

Anyone who has paid attention to New Orleans Saints football over the last few seasons knows that Tyrann Mathieu is still an elite safety. EA Sports has been paying attention because they rated Mathieu a 91 overall in the Madden 25 video game, making him the fifth-highest rated safety.

While this rating is deserved, not everyone was thrilled to see Mathieu that high. One person who made that known was former Saints defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson. The current Philadelphia Eagle wasn’t pleased to see that he wasn’t ranked in the top 10, so he made his case by arguing how he was better than the guys on the list.

Gardner-Johnson specifically called out Mathieu and Kevin Byard III, the safeties of two of the teams he played for. He essentially argued they couldn’t perform as good as he did.

Mathieu, who doesn’t bother anyone, took exception and defended his status in a since-deleted tweet. With a collection of several different screenshots of lists he made this offseason, the Honey Badger explained that he isn’t just living off his name, but actually still playing elite.

He deleted the tweet, but left up a following tweet where he expressed he’s never hated on anyone, and that’s why he’s blessed. Of course, Gardner-Johnson retweeted the post.

This is par for the course when it comes to C.J. Gardner-Johnson. He’s a bit of a troll on and off the field, and he’s very outspoken— even if it’s about someone he’s a fan of. While that may rub some people the wrong way, his status as a good safety can’t be denied.

While he is good, he’s needs to make better arguments, because the Saints certainly aren’t where they’re at because of Tyrann Mathieu. The veteran safety has been a bright spot in New Orleans, and his leadership in the secondary is a big reason why the team is competitive at all. Hopefully, in 2024, the rest of the team can come along.

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