The Chicago Bears are busy practicing indoors amid the bad storms in the area on Day 4 of training camp, but elsewhere, one of their former players is not in a good spot.
Former Bears defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson got hurt at Buffalo Bills training camp. According to ESPN Bills reporter Alaina Getzenberg, Gardner-Johnson was carted off the field. Bills trainers were focused on the right foot area with some kind of lower-body injury.
Gardner-Johnson came in near the middle of the 2025 season for the Bears to start at nickel in place of Kyler Gordon. It ended up being a great move by general manager Ryan Poles. In 10 games, Gardner-Johnson finished the season with 51 tackles, five tackles for loss, five quarterback hits, four pass deflections, three sacks, two interceptions, and one forced fumble. He signed with the Bills during the offseason on a one-year, $6 million contract.
Rough news for former Bears defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson
Bears fans never want to hear that kind of news when it comes to former players on the team. Gardner-Johnson was beloved in Chicago for what he did filling in on defense and performing well.
Gordon's injury left the Bears in a really bad spot in the secondary, with Jaylon Johnson also out for part of the year. Gardner-Johnson ended up playing a critical role in helping the Bears navigate the rough waters and get them into the playoffs.
He was a good fit for what defensive coordinator Dennis Allen needed in his scheme. Gardner-Johnson is a versatile weapon who can play in the box and move around in the secondary wherever he is needed.
The hope in Buffalo for Gardner-Johnson was that he would be a starter in the secondary and play a similar role to the one he did in Chicago. Now that is up in the air, with his injury status not known at the moment.
Chicago ended up doing a huge makeover with the secondary, adding Coby Bryant and rookie Dillon Thieneman as the new starting safeties. Cam Lewis and rookie Malik Muhammad were added at the corner positions with some versatility opportunities for them.
Read more: Ben Johnson's response to Liam Coen says more about Bears than meets the eye
Bears fans will be hoping the Gardner-Johnson news is not too bad and that he can be on the field soon enough. It will be a situation worth monitoring to see whether he will be okay or miss time.
Add us as a preferred source on Google