Mike Vrabel had the perfect comeback to C.J. Gardner-Johnson. The head coach of the New England Patriots set the record straight after his team defeated the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
He stuffed the defensive back in a locker!
It will be extra spicy when these two NFL rivals meet again in December. Now it’s personal.
Buffalo Bills defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson was disappointed with the loss.
Drake Maye played one of the worst games of his career in a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3. The meatball sub jokes were so loud that Subway even sent a scout to the game on Sunday. (No free ads but that was a brilliant play by Subway.)
However, Maye played extremely well during a New England Patriots win over the Buffalo Bills. He completed 22 passes for three touchdowns with one interception and ran for a team-high 54 yards on eight rushing attempts. Seven different players caught a pass. Even Efton Chism III caught a touchdown.
Chism, a 5-foot-10, 198-pound undrafted free agent out Eastern Washington, spent most of his rookie year on the scout team or as a kick returner. He made the first catch of his NFL career in Week 17 of the 2025-26 season.
Now, in his second season, Chism has four catches for seven yards and the touchdown on Sunday. It was an incredible catch that proved to be the game-winner.
ARE YOU EFTON KIDDING ME!!!!!!! 📺 CBS https://t.co/dRQyU4Vbca
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 4, 2026
Here is what he had to say after the win:
Efton Chism on his one-handed TD catch to help seal the Patriots win in Buffalo: “When I’m out there and the ball’s in the air, I kind of black out. I kind of in that little flow state… Drake gave me an opportunity. You gotta come down with those opportunities. Don’t know how many your gonna get." – @CLNSMedia
— Patriots on CLNS (@PatriotsCLNS) October 4, 2026
C.J. Gardner-Johnson was not quite as chipper. The eighth-year defensive back took a direct shot at Chism and called him a “practice squad player.”
CJ Gardner-Johnson on why #Bills lost: "Practice squad player made a helluva play… They didn’t do %$&# better than us. We gotta play better." https://t.co/NJmINX4Djl
— Thad Brown (@thadbrown7) October 4, 2026
There is some irony in that.
Mike Vrabel has Efton Chism’s back!
Gardner-Johnson said he wasn’t going to give the Patriots any bulletin board material. And then he did exactly that.
His insult was also inaccurate. Efton Chism played on the scout team, yes. At no point was he signed to the practice squad. The Patriots put him on the 53-man roster in August 2025 and kept him there ever since.
The same cannot be said for C.J. Gardner-Johnson. The Baltimore Ravens signed him to the practice squad on Oct. 7, 2025.
Mike Vrabel went even one step further. The head coach was asked about the Chism jab during an appearance on The Greg Hill show. He mocked Gardner-Johnson for playing on eight different teams in four years.
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel on Bills DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson: 🎥: @WEEI, @TheGregHillShow “For a guy that’s been on eight teams in four years? I mean, I guess he knows the drill." https://t.co/g4jLMCs4Ht
— Savage (@Savageboston) October 5, 2026
Technically speaking, Gardner-Johnson has only played for five different teams in the last four years. Detroit in 2023, Philadelphia in 2024, Houston and Chicago in 2025, and now Buffalo in 2026. Vrabel’s quip was tongue-in-cheek. He made his point.