The Chicago Bears have dealt with injury issues in the secondary throughout the 2025 campaign, and that led the front office to sign veteran defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson in late October. While he has only been part of the defense in the Windy City for two games, the decision to add the veteran to the roster looks like a fantastic decision based on the early returns.
To find a player with the experience that Gardner-Johnson possesses on the free agent market in the middle of the season is not something that happens every season. His successful addition to the defense also prevented general manager Ryan Poles and the front office from having to seek out a different player to join the secondary via trade, which would have cost the Bears far more than the $1.1 million Gardner-Johnson signed for last month.
The veteran defender shined again in Sunday's win over the New York Giants, finishing with seven solo tackles, two lost yardage tackles, a pair of sacks, and two quarterback hits. In other words, his signing couldn't be going any better.
There is a reason why Gardner-Johnson was available via free agency; other teams felt he would be a risky addition for their own sets of reasons. Chicago decided to take the gamble, though, and it is paying off in a big way as the veteran has already shown with his playmaking abilities and overall approach to the game. This has been evident to Gardner-Johnson's new teammates as well, with Jaquan Brisker offering up one of the best responses to the signing and what he, Gardner-Johnson, and Tyrique Stevenson can accomplish as a trio.
"Especially the way I talk and the way other people talk," Brisker said to ESPN's Courtney Cronin. "We get people's heads. Grown men will be really crying out there. Men with kids. Imagine that. Seriously. It's hilarious. I wish I mic'd up every game."
For teams looking to kick the door down and force themselves into the playoff conversation, much like the Bears are under first-year head coach Ben Johnson, these are the type of low-cost roster additions that can pay major dividends when they work out in the team's favor. This is especially true when some of the higher-priced offseason additions to the roster have not panned out thus far.
In Gardner-Johnson's first game as a member of Chicago's roster, the Super Bowl champion played like a veteran with something to prove as he finished the Bears' win over the Cincinnati Bengals with six total tackles, five of which were of the solo variety, as well as a QB sack. Including the win over the Giants, he now has three sacks while allowing just seven catches on nine targets for 40 yards and a touchdown.
Having a player in the secondary who can be depended upon should only make life easier on the Bears down the stretch, as the stakes are only raised from here. If Gardner-Johnson can continue to contribute at the level he has through his first two weeks with the team, those secondary concerns may not be as substantial down the stretch as fans had feared.
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