Chicago Bears Reunite With Defensive Back to Replace Injured Practice Squad Player

The Chicago Bears made a pair of practice squad moves on Friday afternoon.

New York Jets cornerback Keidron Smith (22) warms up during training camp at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Chicago Bears made a pair of practice squad moves ahead of their Week 2 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.

The Bears announced that they have placed defensive back Anthony Johnson on practice squad injured reserve. It isn't immediately known what injury Johnson is dealing with.

To replace the veteran defensive back, the Bears signed Keidron Smith to the practice squad. This amounts to a reunion for the Bears and Smith after he was signed and then released from Chicago's practice squad recently.

A former Green Bay Packers seventh-round selection, Johnson was inked to the Bears' offseason roster back in May but didn't earn a spot on the initial 53-man roster before being signed to Chicago's practice squad last week.

Over 21 career games (four starts), Johnson has tallied 29 tackles, four passes defensed and one interception. He last appeared in a game with the New York Giants in 2024.

Smith went undrafted out of Kentucky in 2023 and has played in 12 games (one start) during his career. He has 22 tackles in that span and last appeared in a contest with the New York Jets last season. He spent 2024 with the Denver Broncos.

Bears' updated practice squad

Chicago Bears running back Salvon Ahmed (36) runs with the ball against the Cincinnati Bengals in the first half at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

QB Miller Moss
RB Salvon Ahmed
RB Zavier Scott
WR Scotty Miller
WR JP Richardson
WR Kaden Davis
TE Qadir Ismail
TE Stephen Carlson
OL Christian Jones
OL Kyle Hergel
OL Caden Barnett
LB Wayne Matthews II
LB Buddy Johnson
DL Marcus Davenport
DB Keidron Smith
DB Deante Prince

The Bears' practice squad remains at capacity with the swap of Johnson and Smith.

The team elevated two players from the practice squad in Week 1 in wide receiver Kaden Davis and quarterback Miller Moss as the team had injury question marks in receiver Rome Odunze and quarterback Tyson Bagent.

Moss ended up being inactive for the contest, but Davis did get the green light. Davis did not, however, get a snap on offense but did see four on special teams. We would not anticipate him being active in Week 2 now that Odunze appears to be fully healthy.

Chicago has a lengthy injury report this week, but the only real concern going into Friday is Xavier Woods, who remained as a limited participant on Thursday.

That's not a great sign for his status for Week 2 after Woods sat out Week 1, but we'll know more when the Bears drop their final injury report on Friday.

If Woods is ultimately ruled out, we could see one of Deantre Prince or Keidron Smith called up.