LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Chicago Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson continued to await word Monday on a possible punishment
after being arrested last week on misdemeanor weapons charges, then
going to a nightclub with a friend who was shot to death.
Johnson was arrested for the third time in 18 months on Thursday
after police found six unregistered firearms in his suburban home.
Bears general manager Jerry Angelo issued a warning the following
day, and Johnson publicly apologized.
That night, he was at Ice Bar in Chicago's River North area when
his friend and bodyguard Willie B. Posey was killed.
"We have been meeting internally all day regarding Tank
Johnson," Angelo said in a statement. "It is a complicated matter that involves
many parties. We are currently pursuing a course of action and
communicating with the league to reach a conclusion as quickly as
possible."
Johnson was inactive Sunday, when the NFC North champion Bears
beat Tampa Bay 34-31 in overtime to clinch homefield advantage in
the playoffs. Whether he plays again for Chicago remains to be
seen.
"I'm not going to make any more statements on what's going to
happen," coach Lovie Smith said. "We'll get to the point where
we'll be able to tell you some of those things. We're not there
yet."
"He's one of our own. We can't kick him out of the family right away."
-- Lovie Smith
Johnson spent a few minutes at the team's practice facility but
left without speaking to reporters or his coach on Monday.
Smith said the Bears are "in conversations with the league to
find out what we can do" and hoped to have a resolution this week.
"There are times when people disappoint you, yes," Smith said.
"Have I been disappointed more than one time? Yes. There comes a
point where you draw the line."
Police seized two assault-style rifles, three powerful handguns
and a .308 Winchester hunting rifle during the raid. They also
arrested Posey, 26, on a count of felony cannabis possession.
Johnson was not home during the search but turned himself in later
that day. He was released after posting 10 percent of a $1,000
bond.
Johnson is an important piece of the Bears' defense, which ranks
fifth after leading the NFL much of the season. At 12-2, Chicago
has a good shot at its first Super Bowl appearance since the 1985
team won it all, but it runs the risk of alienating its fan base by
keeping a player with a lengthy rap sheet.
A second-round pick from Washington in 2004, Johnson was
sentenced to 18 months' probation and 40 hours community service in
November 2005 after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge from
an arrest in which a nightclub valet reported seeing him with a
handgun in his sport utility vehicle.
He also was arrested last February after a confrontation outside
a Chicago nightclub, although charges were dropped after the police
officer he allegedly fought with chose not to pursue the case.
"He's one of our own," Smith said. "We can't kick him out of
the family right away. A guy that's going through the court system,
you get all the information before you make a decision. And that's
what we're doing right now."
Smith will have some say in determining Johnson's fate. But
ultimately, that's up to management, the league and the law.
Teammates came to Johnson's defense following Sunday's game, and
Smith called him "a caring guy" and "a good father" with two
"beautiful children." But the Bears' patience may be wearing
thin.
"We're 12-2," Smith said. "We just secured homefield
advantage. We won our division. Look where most of the questions
are coming from."