A former Chicago Bears defensive tackle has reunited with his original Green Bay Packers team with one week to go until the start of the 2025 NFL playoffs.
According to the NFL’s official transaction wire, the Packers claimed defensive tackle Jonathan Ford — whom they originally selected in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL draft — off waivers from the Bears to bolster their depth on Monday, December 29.
Ford had played 12 games for the Bears since they signed him off the Packers’ practice squad last December for the final four games of the 2024 season. While he began the 2025 campaign on the practice squad, he earned elevations in three of their first six games and eventually signed to the active roster when Shemar Turner landed on IR.
All told, Ford played 96 defensive snaps over eight games, tallying four total tackles before the Bears waived him on December 27 to clear a spot on the 53-man roster.
The Bears (11-5) will face off against the Detroit Lions (8-8) at Soldier Field for their regular-season finale at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday, January 4.
Will Bears Find DT Help Before 2025 NFL Playoffs?
The Bears might have intended to re-sign Ford to their practice squad if he had cleared waivers, but it seems unlikely they would have brought him back, considering he spent all three of his practice-squad elevation opportunities before the NFL trade deadline.
That said, the Bears could easily justify adding another free-agent defensive tackle to either their active roster or practice squad before the start of the 2025 NFL playoffs.
The Bears are working with a rotation of Grady Jarrett, Gervon Dexter Sr., Andrew Billings and Chris Williams for the interior of their defensive line, but Dexter is the only one who has had any success rushing the passer with five sacks and five tackles for loss.
The other three have combined for two sacks, underscoring the Bears’ ineffective pass-rush, which owns the league’s worst pass-rush win rate (28%), per ESPN Analytics.
Whether the Bears will add more help remains unclear, though. While they could use a pass-rushing force — such as veteran free agent Christian Wilkins — on their line, they have also remained committed to trusting their backups and reserves throughout 2025. It may be that, at this point, the current group is the best the Bears are willing to get.
Odds Favor One More Matchup for Bears & Packers
The Bears have one more week to finalize their seeding in the 2025 NFL playoffs, with both the No. 2 seed and the No. 3 seed in the NFC up for grabs in Week 18’s matchup.
According to PlayoffStatus.com, though, the Bears have a 77% chance of finishing with the 2-seed in the conference, needing either a win over the Lions or the Philadelphia Eagles to lose to the Washington Commanders in Week 18 to clinch the seed. And if that is where they land, then another matchup with the Packers will await them.
The Packers are already locked into the No. 7 seed in the conference heading into their final game of the regular season, having lost the division to the Bears but established enough of a lead over the other NFC wild-card contenders to clinch their playoff spot. If the Bears finish as the No. 2 seed, they will meet in the wild-card round at Soldier Field.
The Bears could still meet the Packers in the playoffs even if they finish with the No. 3 seed, but it would take multiple wins for both teams to get there. The Packers would have to go through the 2-seed and the 1-seed to have any chance of matching up with the 3-seed in the NFC Championship Game, and the Bears would have to win, too.
The Bears and Packers last met in the NFL playoffs after the 2010 regular season, with the Packers prevailing in the NFC title game and going on to win the Super Bowl.
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