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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
John Sigler

C.J. Gardner-Johnson pays special tribute to Tom Brady at his youth football camp

This is just fantastic. Sure, the New Orleans Saints have frustrated Tom Brady at every turn since he went ring-chasing in the NFC South, with their defense sacking, intercepting, taunting, and defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback so often that he briefly went into retirement. And no Saints player has embodied the role of a smirking gadfly so much as C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

Gardner-Johnson kept up the heat on Brady at his recent youth football camp, sending participants through a tackling drill to work on their form — with the tackling dummy wearing Brady’s jersey, of course. It’s an exquisite choice. See for yourself in the video shared by Gardner-Johnson’s manager.

And, hey, what else should Gardner-Johnson do? Brady came to Tampa Bay because he thought that was his easiest path to winning more Super Bowl titles. He got his Mickey Mouse ring in the COVID-plagued 2020 season, with a three-interception Drew Brees meltdown helping him along the way, but he’s otherwise experienced nothing but failure at the hands of the Saints.

Gardner-Johnson and the New Orleans defense have beaten him so badly that he’s been reduced to a swearing, sweating mess. Good on Gardner-Johnson for leaning into it. Now let’s hurry up and get to September so we can see that energy translate to the field — we know he’s good for it.

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