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.