👋 Good morning!
Hand up — I haven’t watched a single Winnipeg Jets game this season. That’s on me.
I’ve seen a couple of Jonathan Toews’ scoring highlights, but I’ve otherwise done my best to avoid them and continue to suppress my inevitable emotions. I don’t think I’ll be able to avoid that tonight.
Connor Bedard vs. Jonathan Toews? How bizarre.
Doesn’t matter to me that the game is in Winnipeg. It still won’t feel right.
Welcome to Chicago,
C.J. Gardner-Johnson
The NFL’s trade deadline expires next Tuesday, November 4, at 3 p.m. CST. But the Bears opted to look to the free-agent pool for immediate help in the secondary, signing defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the active roster on Wednesday.
Background: Gardner-Johnson last appeared in a game earlier this season with the Houston Texans, starting three games before he was released. He then spent seven days earlier this month on the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad.
Last season, Gardner-Johnson started 20 games for the Philadelphia Eagles at strong safety, including Super Bowl LIX. He also matched a career-high in interceptions in a season with six.
Drafted by the New Orleans Saints in 2019 and signed by the Detroit Lions in 2023, Gardner-Johnson also has plenty of familiarity with the Bears’ staff.
Coach Ben Johnson said: “He's been with [Dennis Allen] and so he should have some familiarity. But he's also bounced around to a few different other systems over the last few years, so we'll see how quickly it comes back to him and whether he'll be ready to go this week or not.”
When asked if he’d be ready, Gardner-Johnson said: “I’ll see you Sunday.”
Johnson also indicated Gardner-Johnson will play slot in Kyler Gordon’s absence.
Remember When: Bears fans might remember Gardner-Johnson for other reasons. Back in the 2020 season, when Gardner-Johnson was with the Saints, Bears receiver Javon Wims was ejected for throwing a punch at the DB in a Week 8 loss.
Ten weeks later, in the wild-card round, receiver Anthony Miller was ejected for the same reason.
Earlier that season, Gardner-Johnson was also punched by Saints teammate Michael Thomas, resulting in Thomas’ suspension.
Gardner-Johnson has built a solid reputation as a pest but isn’t immune to his own outbursts. In six seasons in the NFL, he’s been flagged a whopping 12 times for personal fouls.
On Gardner-Johnson’s past, Ben Johnson said: “All I know is he's a competitive player. Felt that during training camp that year that I was with him [2023] … He loves being on the grass and playing football. So, we'll make sure that we have a good support system for him.”
The Squad: The Bears also officially added DE Jonathan Garvin and IOL Royce Newman to the practice squad on Wednesday.
Garvin last appeared in the regular season with the Green Bay Packers back on January 8, 2023. In 38 games, Garvin is credited with 17 tackles and 1.5 sacks. He was a member of the Birmingham Stallions in 2024, where he won a UFL championship, and spent training camp this season with the San Francisco 49ers.
Newman last appeared in a regular-season game for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season. He’s spent the bulk of his career, however, with the Packers, and was cut from the New England Patriots’ practice squad on October 7th.
There’s a scene from Arrested Development that I can’t shake.
For fans of the show, it’s when Lindsay asks her husband, Tobias: “Did it work for those people?” And Tobias responds, “No, it never does. I mean, these people somehow delude themselves into thinking it might, but — but it might work for us.”
That’s how I feel about this signing.
Maybe it works out. Perhaps it’s short-term enough where it doesn’t matter. But Johnson pointed to the strong locker room culture that gave the staff comfort in bringing in Gardner-Johnson. On the flipside of that, you could argue that the culture is strong because it doesn’t have many players like him.
But the Bears don’t have a lot of room to be picky. Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson returned to the practice field in a limited capacity on Wednesday, but they’ll still be without Kyler Gordon for at least another three weeks.
Luckily for the Bears, Cincinnati Bengals backup QB (and former Super Bowl MVP) Joe Flacco did not participate in practice on Wednesday due to an AC joint injury. Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Flacco was “50-50” for Sunday’s game.
Insider Analysis: What the film says about Caleb Williams’ performance against the Ravens
Bulls 126, Kings 113: On a night where Bulls fans gave a warm welcome to ex-Bull Zach LaVine in his first game back in Chicago since he was dealt before last year’s trade deadline, it was Matas Buzelis who deserved all the praise.
Buzelis led the Bulls with 27 points. Nikola Vucevic added a triple-double, scoring 16 points with 14 rebounds and 11 assists. Josh Giddey scored 20 and added 12 assists, too.
With the win, the Bulls are one of four remaining unbeaten teams in the NBA. It’s also their first 4-0 start since 2021-22. The Bulls haven’t begun a season 5-0 since opening the 1996-97 season with 12 consecutive wins.
As for the Kings, LaVine and former-Bull DeMar DeRozan combined to score 49 points, but fell to 1-4 with the loss. Imagine that — a LaVine-DeRozan-led team falling short of expectations.
The Surgical Option: The White Sox announced that first baseman Tim Elko underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair an ACL tear in his right knee. Elko tore the same ACL in 2021 while playing college ball for Ole Miss.
He is expected to miss eight months.
Coaching Change: Cubs major league strategy coach Alex Smith is headed to the Detroit Tigers to serve as their vice president of baseball strategy. Smith joined the Cubs’ organization 10 years ago in the baseball operations department.
Thanks for the support, Ben!
📺 CHGO Bears
1:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Cubs
2:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO White Sox
4:30 on YouTube
🐻 Brick x Brick
6:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Blackhawks
Pregame at 6:30 on YouTube
🏒 Blackhawks at Jets
7:00 on CHSN
📺 CHGO Blackhawks
Postgame on YouTube
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