In a league where trash talk is pretty much an art form and grudges age like a fine bourbon, you’d think at least the offseason would give legends a breather. Because now? Even the Hall of Famers aren’t safe. One minute you’re rocking a gold jacket, the next you’re getting lit up on a podcast like you dropped the game-winner on national TV. Legends used to ride off into the sunset. Now they log on and get dragged like it’s Week 17. For instance, a few days ago, a former Super Bowl champ came in hot and decided to take a jab at one of the most steady, no-drama wide receivers the league’s ever seen.

What came next was a response no one probably has a comeback to. The kind only a man who’s spent his whole career catching everything (except feelings) can pull off. Not too long ago, Asante Samuel dismissed Cris Carter as “nothing more than a possession receiver… one who catches the ball and is immediately tackled,” and hit him with the ultimate shade: “overrated.” That kind of label? It sticks. Unless you peel it off. And Carter? Oh, he peeled it all the way off.

“Yes, I was a possession receiver, absolutely. The best in the history of the game. That’s what the numbers said. So I don’t mind when people call me a possession receiver, but who did it better? After 23 years away from NFL, I’m fourth in TDs. Difference between me and other possession receivers is that they didn’t score a lot of YDs,” he said. And you know what? He has every right to say this.

When Asante Samuel came at Cris Carter, the internet kind of blinked like… wait, what? You can call a lot of things overrated, but Carter? That dude lived in the end zone for Minnesota. Let’s look at the receipts. 1,101 catches (6th all-time), nearly 14,000 receiving yards, and 130 touchdowns. That’s the fourth highest in history. Only Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, and T.O. are ahead of him. That might be one of the most deserving Hall of Fame resumes of all time.

Carter wasn’t just out there grabbing five-yard outs and falling down; he was turning short passes into six points. That’s how good he was in the red zone. He ranked top-5 all-time in red-zone catches and touchdown efficiency, which basically means if you tried to jam him near the goal line, you were asking to get embarrassed. Oh, and if you think he stopped at Asante, you’re absolutely wrong!

Cris Carter fires missiles at Chad Johnson

Let’s just say, those comparisons with Chad Johnson. Carter didn’t take those lightly. He hit back, and hard. He made sure to remind everyone: when it comes to the numbers that really matter, his résumé leaves Johnson’s in the dust.

Carter couldn’t help but laugh as he broke it down: six seasons with double-digit touchdowns? “For me, Chad Johnson scored double-digit TDs one time in his 11 years. I scored six times.” You could’ve said that Carter was just triggered when he got compared to Chad, but only if everything he said wasn’t true. But these are just facts.

And the numbers back it up big time. Johnson finished his career with 67 touchdown grabs in 166 games. Carter? A ridiculous 130 in just 234 games. That’s nearly double the production, in just under 100 more games. And when it comes to consistency? Again, not even close. Carter topped 1,000 yards in eight different seasons. Johnson? Seven.

Carter wasn’t out to tear Chad Johnson down; he was simply backing himself up. “I didn’t say Chad was overrated, I said he is not a Hall of Famer.” That’s not a cheap jab, it’s a line in the sand. Carter drew a fine line of distinction between being excited in your prime and being elite for over a decade.

And sure, Chad enjoyed some good phases, like 2007, where he racked up over 1440 yards. But when you stack up the full body of work? It’s a different story. Johnson finished with 11,059 receiving yards and 67 touchdowns. Solid numbers. But compared to Carter’s career totals? It shouldn’t even be a comparison. It’s easy to see why one’s in Canton and the other’s in the conversation, not the club.