C.J. Gardner-Johnson's familiarity with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen is a big reason why the Chicago Bears signed him to their active roster. Bears fans are familiar with him, too, but their history with the splashy defensive back is one they'd probably like to forget.
Gardner-Johnson was in the middle of two Bears scuffles back in 2020, that each resulted in a player being ejected.
The painful memories of Gardner-Johnson's lackluster history with Bears
The first incident came in Week 8, on a first-and-10 play in the third quarter. The Saints had just tied the game at 13, and Nick Foles was trying to give the Bears the lead again. On the first play of the series, Foles found Allen Robinson for a gain of five-- a good start for any drive. But after the play, seemingly out of nowhere, Javon Wims ran up to Gardner-Johnson, grabbed his facemask, then socked him with two sucker punches.
Gardner-Johnson appeared stunned by the sudden assault as his Saints teammates came to defend him. Unsurprisingly, Wims was tossed, the Bears were backed up to 2nd-and-20, and Foles threw an interception on a deep ball intended for Jimmy Graham the next play.
The Saints ended up winning 26-23 in overtime.
Fast forward to the Wild Card round later that year. The Bears were down 7-3 in the third quarter, trying to mount a comeback. A 3rd-and-15 pass from Mitchell Trubisky fell incomplete, and Gardner-Johnson went to let wide receiver Anthony Miller know about it. Miller took the bait and punched Gardner-Johnson. The Saints DB threw his hands in the air, looking for the flag he knew he just drew, and was rewarded for his efforts. Miller was disqualified from the game, just like Wims had been a couple of months earlier.
The Bears punted the ball away and eventually lost the game 21-9, ending their season.
What makes Miller's punch even more ridiculous is that the Bears held meetings before the game, specifically about not retaliating if Gardner-Johnson got under their skin. The team knew he was a pest on the field, but Miller couldn't help himself.
Must be a generational trash-talker.
Gardner-Johnson was asked about those altercations when he met with Bears media for the first time on Wednesday and said he didn't remember what he said to provoke the outbursts.
"That was three years ago, four years ago," Gardner-Johnson told reporters. "I don’t know."
Five years, but who's counting.
Read more: Bears signing C.J. Gardner-Johnson should help defense in one unexpected way
The Bears will need Gardner-Johnson to help out in the secondary with Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon on IR. If he can entice any opponents to give the Bears 15 yards for free, I'm sure they'll take that, too.