Bears sign veteran C.J. Gardner-Johnson to bolster their banged-up secondary

Sean Hammond and Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune on Oct 29, 2025

Published in Football

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CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears signed defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson on Wednesday, bringing in a veteran to help a secondary severely depleted by injuries.

Gardner-Johnson, 27, had six interceptions last season while starting 16 regular-season games and all four playoff games for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. He previously crossed paths with Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen in New Orleans and coach Ben Johnson in Detroit.

“It was one of those moves that we felt comfortable with where we’re at as a team right now, where C.J.’s at in his career, that it’s a good fit,” Johnson said.

In his seventh NFL season, Gardner-Johnson has 18 career interceptions in 77 games. He spent his first three seasons with the Saints (2019-21) before bouncing around with two stints with the Eagles (2022 and ’24), one season with the Lions (2023) and most recently a three-game stint with the Houston Texans this season.

The Eagles traded Gardner-Johnson in the offseason to the Texans, who released him in late September. His release came as somewhat of a surprise across the league. He signed with the Ravens practice squad in October but spent only a week in Baltimore.

He will join a Bears secondary that is currently without cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon, who are both on injured reserve. Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson missed last week’s game against the Baltimore Ravens with a shoulder injury, and it’s unclear if Stevenson will be back this week.

With Gordon, the primary nickel corner, sidelined for at least three more games, Ben Johnson confirmed that Gardner-Johnson will focus primarily on the slot.

“He’s been with (Allen) and so he should have some familiarity (with the scheme),” Johnson said. “But he’s also bounced around to a few different other systems over the last few years, and so we’ll see how quickly it comes back to him and whether he’ll be ready to go this week or not.”

He’ll have three practices to get up to speed before the Bears visit the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. With wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on the other side, shoring up the secondary is a big priority this week.

Gardner-Johnson has a reputation for being a fiery player who doesn’t shy away from talking on the field. Bears fans will remember him for riling up wide receiver Anthony Miller in a January 2021 playoff game to the point Miller threw a punch and was ejected from the 21-9 loss to the Saints.

That came only two months after Bears wide receiver Javon Wims also was ejected for throwing a punch at Gardner-Johnson in a regular-season meeting at Soldier Field. Wims received a two-game suspension.

After the regular-season incident, then-Bears coach Matt Nagy said his team had a meeting ahead of the playoff game devoted entirely to not falling for Gardner-Johnson’s antics — only for Miller to throw a punch at him anyway. The Bears traded Miller the following offseason.

It’s a curious addition for the Bears, who have avoided players with a reputation for being antagonistic. Gardner-Johnson is also on his fourth team in a calendar year.

Johnson said the Bears did their due diligence by speaking with people who have worked with Gardner-Johnson recently.

“We’ve got a very strong locker room,” Johnson said. “We’ve got a positive veteran influence in there. I feel very strongly about that group, and nothing is more important than our locker (room), to be clear with you. That’s certainly first and foremost (with) any decision we make of who we bring in or who we let go. And so we’re all aware of how important that is and the fit that he has with this locker room.”

The Bears had an open spot on the roster, which was at 52 players after Tuesday’s moves, so they didn’t need to release anyone to make space for Gardner-Johnson.

The Bears also signed offensive lineman Royce Newman and defensive lineman Jonathan Garvin to their practice squad Wednesday.

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