Justin Jefferson Gets Irrationally Mad At The NFL For Sharing Pic Of Lions Fan’s ‘Kneecap’ Sign

The Lions are one game away from playing in the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history, and Dan Campbell deserves a ton of credit for helping the team turn things around. Fans in Detroit have fully embraced him, but one supporter rubbed Justin Jefferson the wrong way with a sign referencing one of the head coach’s most iconic quotes.

It seemed like the Detroit Lions were taking a bit of a leap of faith when they hired Dan Campbell to helm the team prior to the start of the 2021 campaign.

The former tight end played there for a few seasons toward the end of his NFL career, and while he technically had experience as a head coach thanks to his interim role with the Dolphisn in 2015, he’d served as an assistant during his time with the Saints before coming aboard.

Campbell came hot out of the gate when he arrived in Detroit, as the man who’s spent the past few years proving he’s a quote machine set the tone during an introductory press conference where he had this to say when discussing his philosophy:

“When you knock us down, we’re gonna get up, and on the way up, we’re going to bite a kneecap off.

We’re gonna stand up, it’s gonna take two more shots to knock us down, and on the way up, we’re gonna take your other kneecap.

Then it’s gonna take three shots to get us down, then we’re gonna take another hunk out of you. Before long, we’re gonna be the last ones standing.”

It initially seemed like Campbell was all bark and no bite when you consider the Lions went 3-13 during his inaugural season. However, they bounced back in a big way and have now earned the right to face off against the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game after beating the Buccaneers on Sunday.

During that contest, NBC captured a fan who rolled into Ford Field with a sign referencing Campbell’s kneecap rant, and the NFL opted to share a picture of the shot online.

However, that didn’t sit well with Justin Jefferson, who apparently thought it was an explicit reference to a couple of knee injuries stemming from some hits delivered by Lions safety Kerby Joseph.

 

In December, Jefferson’s teammate T.J. Hockenson saw his season end after tearing his ACL and MCL when Joseph hit him with a low tackle during a game between the Vikings and the Lions (which ended with Detroit securing the win and clinching the NFC North).

While it was a pretty straightforward hit, the same can’t be said about the one Joseph delivered while taking down Tyler Higbee during Detroit’s wild card showdown with the Rams, as the tight end will have to spend the offseason rehabbing the torn ACL he suffered as a result.

With that said, it does seem like Jefferson is reading a bit too much into what appears to be a pretty clearcut reference to the aforementioned quote from Campbell, and it’s very hard to imagine the Lions fan who made the sign was going out of their way to add insult to literal injury.