C.J. Gardner-Johnson has only been with the Chicago Bears for approximately two weeks, but the veteran defensive back has already made a huge impact.
Signed on October 29 to help an injury-riddled secondary, Gardner-Johnson has delivered two productive outings in as many games. First, in the team’s back and forth 47-42 road win over the Cincinnati Bengals, then again in Chicago’s 24-20 victory over the New York Giants Week 10.
In those two games, he has amassed 15 tackles (12 solo), 3.0 sacks and a key forced fumble in the win over the Giants — a play that gave the Bears the ball and some momentum when they sorely needed it.
“Chauncey Gardner-Johnson is in the running for midseason pickup of the year,” NFL.com’s Bobby Kownack wrote on November 9. “He represents another spark plug for a defense that entered Week 10 as the league’s most opportunistic and added CJGJ’s takeaway to bring its season total to 20.”
C.J. Gardner-Johnson Could Be 1 of the Year’s Best Free Agent Signings if Hot Streak Continues
GettyC.J. Gardner-Johnson of the Chicago Bears celebrates after a sack. Some analysts think he could be one of the best free agent pickups of the year if he continues to play well.
An edgy DB who can play safety, nickel or match up underneath, Gardner-Johnson was clearly a player defensive coordinator Dennis Allen stumped for before the Bears signed him.
The two worked together in New Orleans from 2019-21, and it’s clear Allen knows how to incorporate and use him. Gardner-Johnson had a turbulent start to his 2025 campaign. He started the season with the Texans, but Houston cut him after three games. He had a brief detour on the Ravens’ practice squad, but nothing came of that, either. Perhaps a reunion with Allen is exactly what he needed.
With Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon both missing significant time this year, the Bears’ secondary had a huge void, and while the team still misses those two dearly, Gardner-Johnson has given the secondary — and the entire defense, really — a much-needed boost.
So could the Bears look to re-sign him for 2026 if this keeps up? They might, He’s only 27, and he’s already shown he can blitz and play in Allen’s defense. The only caveats would be price and durability. Gardner-Johnson may very well want multi-year security after bouncing around on three different teams in one season — he’s making just under $1.2 million this season. He could also want to test the market, but he seems to play his best ball when he’s under Allen.
“Like an energy bug, consistently out there talking to guys,” Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright said about CJGJ, via The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain. “Even when we were down, he kind of was keeping us going. ‘Come on, we got to make this play, get a stop.’ So just the Energizer Bunny for us.”
A Look Ahead to the Bears’ Week 11 Matchup vs. the Minnesota Vikings
Next up for Gardner-Johnson are the 4-5 Minnesota Vikings, who handed Chicago a Week 1 loss at the start of the season.
The Bears jumped out to a 17-6 lead through three quarters in that game, but the Vikings rallied in the fourth quarter behind QB J.J. McCarthy, who threw two touchdown passes and ran for another, leading Minnesota to a 27-24 comeback victory.
Minnesota has been sloppy of late, though, losing three of its last four games. The Bears, on the other hand, have won six of their last seven and feel like a different team — in a good way — than they did in the season opener. It’ll be interesting to see how they play against the Vikes this time around.
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