Former NFL player Chad Johnson has commented on the news about the incident involving analyst Steve Smith Sr. and Denver Broncos receiver Jerry Jeudy, taking the side of the latter on his YouTube show NightCap with Shannon Sharpe.
On the Thursday Night Football broadcast, Steve Smith was recounting how he was going to apologize to Jeudy because of previous comments he made about his level of play. Smith called the former Alabama receiver a “JAG,” which is an acronym standing for “just a guy.”
Johnson gave Jeudy the benefit of the doubt saying that most receivers nowadays are going to take comments like that differently to people when he was playing. However, Johnson also believes there's more to the story than Jeudy unable to handle Smith's criticisms.
“It probably wouldn’t go (well) for many players when they hear a former player talk about them that way,” Johnson said. “If it was fair, there would be no reason for (Jeudy) to be mad. He’s mad for a reason.”
Steve Smith gets real with Jerry Jeudy on broadcast
In the story told by the NFL Network analyst, Smith said Jeudy responded to his apology with “I don't mess with you” followed by curse words. This prompted Smith to go off on the former first-round pick on live television.
“So if you ever got a problem with Agent 89, I'm sorry for saying that you're an average wide receiver who they will eventually move on from,” Smith said on the broadcast. “And when teams call me and ask if they should trade for you, I will say ‘No, don't trade for Jerry Jeudy' because he's mentally unable to handle constructive criticism.”
Later in the broadcast, Jeudy could be seen screaming and dancing around the back of Smith. He finished the game against the Kansas City Chiefs with three catches for 14 yards.
Chad Johnson thinks delivery of criticism is unfair
Johnson would go on to say that Smith isn't going to sugarcoat how he feels on a certain subject. Shannon Sharpe would ask if he thought the criticism was unfair, but the former receiver would respond that another aspect was unjust.
“Knowing Steve and how he is, he’s a straight shooter. He’s going to tell you how it is based on how he feels and based on the production that you’ve done to this point,” Johnson said. “The delivery of the critique was unfair.”
Through five games, Jeudy has 20 catches for 222 yards for what has been a sluggish Broncos offense led by head coach Sean Payton and quarterback Russell Wilson. After their loss to the Chiefs, they'll have extra time to prepare for their next game against the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 22.
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