Former Detroit Lions safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson appears to be back in the NFC North.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Chicago Bears are signing the veteran defender to their active roster following his visit with the team on Tuesday.
Gardner-Johnson’s signing not only reunites him with Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, who coached him during their time with the New Orleans Saints, but he’s also back in the saddle with Bears coach Ben Johnson, with whom he shared a cup of coffee during his lone year with the Lions in 2023.
Gardner-Johnson, 27, will now be with his fourth NFL franchise in 2025 alone. Roughly a month removed from winning Super Bowl LIX in February, the Philadelphia Eagles traded Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans.
Then, just three games into his stint with the Texans, the franchise opted to release the veteran safety, with reports of locker room issues cited as the reason.
Several weeks later, Gardner-Johnson would sign with the Baltimore Ravens, under the assumption that the team would elevate him to the active roster as they were thin at safety.
However, after the Ravens acquired safety Alohi Gilman from the Los Angeles Chargers, Gardner-Johnson and the Ravens made what reports described as an “amicable mutual decision” to release him after just one week.
Since his first three NFL seasons, which he played with the Saints, who took him in the fourth round of the 2019 draft, Gardner-Johnson has not remained with an NFL franchise past one season.
Following his first stint with the Eagles, Gardner-Johnson signed a one-year deal with the Lions in the 2023 offseason.
After playing the first two games of the season, the Lions placed the veteran on the injured reserve list due to a torn pectoral muscle he suffered during a Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Gardner-Johnson would return to the lineup in the Lions’ season finale against division rival Minnesota Vikings, logging his only interception while playing in Detroit. He finished his tenure with the Lions with 17 combined tackles (16 solo), three pass deflections, and one interception in three games and two starts.
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