C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who five years ago egged on fights with Bears players in two different games, is coming to Halas Hall.
The Bears added the defensive back Wednesday, with coach Ben Johnson saying the plan was to play him at slot cornerback, Kyler Gordon’s spot until he was hurt last week.
Gardner-Johnson started 16 games for the Super Bowl champion Eagles a year ago, but bounced between the Texans and the Ravens this year, playing three games for Houston. He spent just a week on the Ravens’ practice squad earlier this month.
Gardner-Johnson has experience in defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s system, having played for the Saints from 2019-21. He played for Johnson’s Lions in 2023, though he was limited to three games because of a pec injury.
With Allen as his defensive coordinator from 2019-21, Gardner-Johnson played 1,452 snaps in the slot, about 55% of his downs. He was in the slot about 10% of the time year.
Gardner-Johnson has 18 interceptions in seven seasons. His reputation, though, precedes him.
Gardner-Johnson is a pest on the field and fiery off it — he’s been traded once and cut twice since March. An anonymous players poll by The Athletic named Gardner-Johnson the league’s most annoying player in 2024 and biggest trash-talker in 2023.
Gardner-Johnson received two unsportsmanlike penalties last season against the Commanders, which led to his ejection from the game. In 2020, the year the Bears faced him twice, Gardner-Johnson was flagged for four unnecessary roughness penalties and one unsportsmanlike conduct.
For a team that ranks among the league’s worst in penalties and is trying to build a strong culture under a first-year head coach, the signing of Gardner-Johnson is a curious choice.
Johnson, though, pointed to the experience he and Allen have with the 27-year-old. He said the Bears reached out to those with more recent experience with Gardner-Johnson before deciding to sign him. He said the Bears “felt comfortable with where we’re at as a team right now, where CJ’s at in his career,” and decided it was a good fit.
“Well, 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 to be clear with you — That’s certainly first and foremost of any decision we make of who we bring in or who we let go. And so, I think we’re all aware of how important that is and the fit that he has with this locker room.”
In Chicago, he’s best known for his antics in two 2020 games. In November, Bears receiver Javon Wims was ejected from a regular season overtime loss for punching Gardner-Johnson, a notorious pest who was once slugged by his own teammate, Michael Thomas, in New Orleans.
The Bears were set to play the Saints in the first round of the playoffs, and Bears coaches held a meeting specifically to tell their players not to engage with the safety. Receiver Anthony Miller punched him anyway and was ejected from the playoff loss.
Later, chairman George McCaskey said he had a bigger issue with Miller’s ejecting.
“They sat him down and they told him, ‘Listen, watch out for this player. He’s a punk. He’s going to try to get under your skin … ’” McCaskey said then. “‘Anthony had the benefit of having seen Javon’s experience.”
Miller never played another snap for the Bears. Amazingly, Gardner-Johnson is about to play his first.