DELATRON JOHNSON CARRIED the worry of a mother watching her child struggle. It was early October, and her son, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, had just been released from the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad.
The highs of winning Super Bowl LIX eight months earlier felt like they happened in another lifetime. It was the defensive back's second stint with the Philadelphia Eagles, who beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22, to win the Lombardi Trophy.
But in October, Gardner-Johnson was a free agent. The stability he had once felt was gone, and he was unsure how to handle what would come next.
"Your mental is f---ed up when ball is taken away," Gardner-Johnson recently told ESPN. "We're guys. We're taught to be tough and strong and courageous from 10 years old to however long you play football, so you never really have a chance to sit back and think.
"Me sitting at home, I had to really look myself in the mirror. And it's like, it's really on me."
One month after the Super Bowl, the Eagles traded Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans, a move widely seen as a salary-cap dump after he signed a three-year, $27 million contract in March 2024. Speaking on "The Pivot" podcast, Gardner-Johnson claimed the Eagles traded him because they were "scared of a competitor." He cited his ejection from a December 2024 game against the Washington Commanders and also being blamed for instigating a fight in a postseason practice.
Whatever the reason, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni had nothing but nice things to say about Gardner-Johnson this week as the Eagles prepared to host the Bears on Friday (Prime Video, 3 p.m. ET).
"I love C.J." Sirianni said. "We've had some great times together. Been to one Super Bowl together, won another one together.
"I always loved the emotion he played with and how he went about his business. I miss him, and he's playing good football."
That emotion doesn't always play well with coaches. Gardner-Johnson played over 96% of defensive snaps at safety for Houston to start this season, but the Texans pulled a surprise move by cutting him. Houston coach DeMeco Ryans said it was his decision to move on and alluded to Gardner-Johnson's fit in the locker room being an issue.
"I know what's best for my team," Ryans said at the time. "Coming from me, the head coach, it was the best for our team. That's why I made the decision."
Gardner-Johnson was one season removed from matching a career-high six interceptions for the champion Eagles, yet his football future hung in the balance.
"He went on shutdown mode because I think he, at that moment, realized this could all be gone," Delatron Johnson said.
In the eyes of his mother, Gardner-Johnson was being humbled, and she didn't see that as a bad thing. Delatron Johnson kept her message simple as she prayed for her son: "God, show him grace."
Gardner-Johnson bounced between his home in Orlando, Florida, and where he trains in Texas, reflecting on his actions and behaviors that weren't conducive to longevity in the NFL.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears were scrambling to fill a significant hole in their banged-up secondary. Two days before suffering a 30-16 blowout loss to the Ravens in Week 8, Chicago placed cornerback Kyler Gordon on injured reserve with groin and calf injuries.
The defense, which was already without Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson, could not sustain another injury blow. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen knew where to look to fill the void. While with the New Orleans Saints in 2019, Allen stood on a table, making the argument to draft Gardner-Johnson.
On Oct. 29, the Bears became Gardner-Johnson's fourth team since the start of the 2025 calendar year. The front office and coaching staff knew the boom-or-bust dynamic that came with bringing Gardner-Johnson into the building and felt equipped to handle it.
The Bears needed him, and Gardner-Johnson needed a fresh start. Four weeks later, both parties are fulfilling their promise to one another.
ONE SATURDAY IN the fall of 2009, as Delatron Johnson pulled up to the little league football field of the Rockledge, Florida, Raiders, she couldn't believe what she was seeing: Her son running around the field in his undergarments, trying to cut weight.
Gardner-Johnson was two pounds over the weight limit the league had for its youth football players on offense. At the time of weigh-ins, coaches realized the pre-teen had added two pounds of muscle, so they put a green stripe on his helmet and moved him to defense.
And a star was born.
At Cocoa High School, Gardner-Johnson was the first player John Wilkinson coached who had started all four years on varsity from his first snap as a ninth-grader. He started as an outside linebacker and transitioned to free safety, where Wilkinson frequently blitzed him off the edge.
From a young age, Gardner-Johnson had a reputation as a talker on the field. Wilkinson didn't mind. He knew Gardner-Johnson thrived off his bravado and the way it would get in the heads of opponents. He had only one rule for his players: "If you get me a penalty, that's going to be a problem."
There would be moments when he'd pull Gardner-Johnson out of a game and tell him to tone things down, but for the most part, Wilkinson let his defensive star thrive as an agitator. He didn't see any point in changing what fueled his competitive edge.
"You'd have kids who would lose focus and drop balls," Wilkinson said. "He was constantly talking. Sometimes you're like, 'Will you shut up?' But that's just the way he plays, and he's done a great job of doing it all throughout his life. Why change now?"
He hasn't. As one NFC executive put it, "You love him when he's on your team. He's a pain in the ass to deal with if you're playing him."
Years before joining the Bears, Gardner-Johnson -- then with the New Orleans Saints -- was at the center of two incidents with Chicago receivers. On Nov. 1, 2020, former Bears receiver Javon Wims was ejected from Chicago's 26-23 overtime win against the Saints for sucker-punching Gardner-Johnson after the DB taunted him and ripped the young wideout's mouthpiece off his helmet. In a playoff game against New Orleans weeks later, Bears receiver Anthony Miller bit on Gardner-Johnson's antics and was ejected from Chicago's wild-card loss for taking a shot at the DB after the whistle.
Watching those games on television from Florida, Wilkinson couldn't help but chuckle.
"Chauncey won," he said, referring to Gardner-Johnson's given name. "He got under their skin, and that's exactly what he wanted to happen."
CORNERBACK TYRIQUE STEVENSON has known Gardner-Johnson since their days at the University of Florida. Gardner-Johnson served as Stevenson's host on a recruiting visit, and he was aware of Gardner-Johnson's reputation long before they became NFL teammates with the Bears.
"[The outside perception] was like, he's a hothead, he doesn't listen," Stevenson said. "Just from what I read and all that, it was just [that he was considered] a little d-----bag.
"But he's a great guy, great competitor, and I feel like sometimes that competitiveness gets portrayed as cockiness and arrogance."
In the weeks he was without football, Gardner-Johnson did everything he could to keep from dwelling on the past. There was no point in reliving the memories -- good or bad -- as he tried to focus on his mental health.
"In Philly, I won a championship already," he said. "Ain't nothing to talk about. We're already in history."
But the departure from Houston seemed to sting more.
"They lost a gem," he said quietly.
Gardner-Johnson said what has helped is a commitment to therapy. It's something he started after losing his first Super Bowl with the Eagles in 2022 and has become a twice-weekly part of his routine the past two years. He'll meet with his therapist virtually or in person, sometimes flying to Arizona and back on his off days for sessions.
"You've got to be vulnerable with your situations," Gardner-Johnson said. "The word accountability is one of the biggest things for me right now. I had to learn to take accountability and learn what accountability was.
"The older you get, things get challenging. I had to learn from my experiences. I had to change who I was, and I wouldn't say necessarily on the field or off the field. More so my take on certain situations I was facing in life."
Gardner-Johnson said getting back to himself meant changing the way he interacted with the media, how he carries himself in the team's facility and pouring himself into the community. In October, he launched his Ceedy Cares Foundation, which focuses on mentorship and community outreach. Last weekend, Gardner-Johnson ran a turkey drive at Wilkinson's high school in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, a place the Bears cornerback holds no ties to but means a lot to someone who knows him well.
"He cares about the people in his life and he'll do whatever it takes to fight for the people in his life," Wilkinson said. "That's the one thing that doesn't come off that way when he's on the field. He's not the way he is on the field, off the field."
QUARTERBACK CALEB WILLIAMS picked up 8 yards on a fourth-and-1 designed run to spark a touchdown drive in the first half of the Bears' 31-28 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Williams was a touch too slow getting out of bounds and was hit by cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
The hit was legal, but Gardner-Johnson took exception to an opponent making contact with his quarterback. He was the first to run up to Ramsey, grab the collar of his jersey and have words with the Pro Bowler.
"I actually didn't notice that until I went back and watched [the film]," Williams said. "It's what we offer each other. ... If C.J. was out there and somebody on their offense did something wrong on the sideline, I would expect all of us to be right there on the white and protect each other because that's who we are. We fight for each other, we protect each other."
Gardner-Johnson is fiercely protective, an attribute those who know him best say he gets from his mother. His work ethic is also an attribute passed down from Delatron, who owns a coffee shop and sports bar and runs residential group homes for foster children.
Since Gardner-Johnson joined the Bears prior to Chicago's Week 9 win in Cincinnati, nickelbacks coach Cannon Matthews has set an early alarm each morning to get to Halas Hall for one-on-one sessions at 6 a.m. They're designed to get Gardner-Johnson up to speed on playing the nickel.
"Once that first game hit, just the passion that he exudes and even in practice, you could tell that it was something that he was missing," Matthews said. "His energy is infectious, which is a great thing for the defense."
Gardner-Johnson's impact on the Bears' defense was felt immediately. He recorded a third-down sack against the Bengals and was used on two blitzes against the Giants the following week, both of which resulted in sacks. He's tied for the fourth-most quarterback hits (four) on the team and has a forced fumble.
"I'm proud of what he's doing," Eagles safety Reed Blankenship said. "I've always respected him as a player and especially as a brother. I still believe that we're family and I'm glad he's doing well.
"I love to see him play, regardless of where he's at. He's dominating. I love to see that. If emotions run high, they run high. He's a great ballplayer and he plays with that emotion. I'm glad he's doing well."
When the Bears placed Gordon on injured reserve, coach Ben Johnson said the team expected his stint on IR would be of the "short-term variety." Gordon and Jaylen Johnson were activated Thursday. But even when Gordon comes back, which could be as early as Friday's game against the Eagles, the Bears want to keep Gardner-Johnson on the field.
"C.J. is definitely a playmaker," Ben Johnson said. "He's a guy we're going to want on the field."
And that's where Gardner-Johnson wants to stay. In a locker room that has welcomed and supported him as he tries to make the most of another chance, the cornerback has found a comfort zone.
"I'm happy," he said. "I'm at peace that I can be myself in a building where I'm not always looked at and scrutinized for every little move.
"Everywhere I've been, you peep the temperature of the room. You should have that same treatment [from the team] when that person's doing good or when that person's mentally struggling. I feel like here, the treatment has been the same regardless if you're doing good, doing bad. I see it through the players. I see how they treat them and you see how the guys react when they're doing their thing."
Eagles reporter Tim McManus contributed to this report.