Despite their success thus far, the Detroit Lions have been forced to deal with several injuries to the secondary throughout the 2025 campaign. That makes it especially frustrating to see a player who was recently on the roster, only to sign with a division rival as a free agent in October, providing his new team with this type of boost in just two games.
Of course, that refers to recently signed Chicago Bears nickelback C.J. Gardner-Johnson. The controversial DB signed with the Lions before the 2023 season, but he didn't play much as injuries limited him to just six games between the regular season and playoffs. With that in mind, his play on Sunday against the New York Giants happened to be one of his best performances in recent memory.
Ex-Lion CJ Gardner-Johnson's Stock Soaring With Bears After Week 10
In two games with the Bears, Gardner-Johnson looks like a player determined to make a statement with his performance on the field. The former University of Florida standout has recorded 15 total tackles, three sacks, and one forced fumble. Sunday's win over the Giants saw Gardner-Johnson become the first Bears defensive back with two sacks in a single game since Ricky Manning accomplished the feat in 2006, per Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic.
Gardner-Johnson's lack of impact in Detroit was no real fault of his own. Injuries happen, and in a sport like football, there isn't much time to wait around for someone to get healthy when a new opponent will be front and center the following week. Given he was on a one-year deal with the franchise, it was a relatively easy decision for the Lions to move on from him at the time.
In retrospect, maybe that wasn't the best choice to make. The following season, Gardner-Johnson received votes for AP Comeback Player of the Year after recording six interceptions in 16 starts for the Philadelphia Eagles. Things went south for him in Philadelphia from there, though, which led to Gardner-Johnson being traded to the Houston Texans before being released in September, allowing him to land with the Bears.
To go from being available for any team to sign just days before Halloween, to making the type of impact he did in Week 10 to help lead the Bears to a win they had to have against the Giants, there is no doubt that the veteran has the rest of the league regretting not taking the same gamble on him that the Bears did.
Should the Lions have considered a reunion? Perhaps, but what's done is done at this point, and it's time to march forward. Detroit much focus on the latter half of the 2025 season, which includes a clash with Gardner-Johnson and Chicago at Soldier Field in Week 18, leaving plenty of time for the ex-Lion to prove if his resurgence is for real or just a flash in the pan.