The Bears have signed veteran safety Anthony Johnson Jr., Jordan Schultz reported on Wednesday night.
Johnson, 26, was a seventh-round pick by the Packers out of Iowa State in the 2023 NFL Draft. He made the 53-man roster and started in four games as a rookie, tallying an interception, three pass deflections, and 24 tackles across his 12 games for Green Bay. He finished the season with a 64.0 PFSN SAF Impact Score, ranking No. 82 among 92 qualified safeties in 2023.
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Though the Packers released him after the preseason in 2024, Johnson got picked up by the Giants and played in nine games for them, tallying five tackles, with two of them coming on special teams. He failed a physical with New York before the 2025 season, which caused him to spend the entirety of last season on their injured reserve. He got released by the Giants in March of 2026.
This marks the second veteran signing the Bears have made on Wednesday, having signed running back Salvon Ahmed earlier in the evening. Johnson projects as a competitor for a backup safety role, and his special teams experience should help him as he battles with the likes of Cam Lewis and Elijah Hicks for a roster spot.
