The Chicago Bears just addressed a serious deficiency, signing veteran defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson to their active roster. NFL insider Adam Schefter was first to report the news.
Gardner-Johnson, 27, is coming off a strong 2024 season with the Philadelphia Eagles, where he started 16 games and recorded 59 total tackles (two for loss), 12 passes defended and six interceptions — one of which he returned 69 yards for his first career touchdown in a Week 17 win over Dallas.
His knack for tracking the football and disrupting passing lanes helped lead an Eagles secondary that ranked among the NFC’s best in 2024. He’s a few years removed from a 2022 campaign in which he tied for the NFL lead with six interceptions despite missing five games with a lacerated kidney.
Chicago Bears Sign Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Who Has History With DC Dennis Allen
GettyDefensive back CJ Gardner-Johnson has signed with the Chicago Bears, where he will reunite with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.
What makes Gardner-Johnson’s move to Chicago especially intriguing, though, is his connection to defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. The two spent three seasons together with the Saints from 2019 to 2021, when Allen served as the Saints’ defensive coordinator. It didn’t take long for Gardner-Johnson to became one of Allen’s most versatile defenders — a hybrid nickel safety who can blitz, play the run and match up well against tight ends or slot receivers.
With Kyler Gordon and Jaylon Johnson both on injured reserve, it’s a move that should help the Bears’ secondary almost immediately.
With his proven ball-hawk instincts and ability to energize a secondary, Gardner-Johnson gives the Bears a playmaker who already knows the system and the standards Allen expects. If he stays healthy, his arrival could immediately elevate the defense.
He’s also a player Bears fans likely remember well from his time in New Orleans.
CJGJ Was Involved in the Ejection of Multiple Bears’ WRs Before
In a November 2020 game, former Bears’ wide receiver Javon Wims was ejected after punching Gardner-Johnson during a 26-23 overtime loss to the Saints. Wims walked up behind Gardner-Johnson, tapped his chest and threw a right-hand blow to CJGJ’s helmet before following up with an open-hand slap.
Gardner-Johnson did not retaliate, and the sequence led to Wims’ immediate ejection and a subsequent two-game suspension. Replays showed that Gardner-Johnson had ripped out Wims’ mouthguard and returned it to the field, and Wims later claimed Gardner-Johnson spat on him (which Gardner-Johnson denied).
Then, later that season, in the NFC Wild Card playoff game in January of 2021, former Bears WR Anthony Miller was thrown out after shoving Gardner-Johnson in the face mask following a verbal exchange. Gardner-Johnson had provoked Miller with some trash talk and a finger in his face while Miller was walking back to the sideline after an incomplete pass. Miller’s two-reception, 22-yard day ended early when he retaliated, drew an unsportsmanlike conduct flag and was ejected.
Both ejections underscore Gardner-Johnson’s reputation as a figurative thorn in the sides of opposing wideouts. Now, he’ll be wearing a Bears uniform, and he’ll bring some much-needed aggressiveness to the secondary.
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