Bears chairman George McCaskey is holding Anthony Miller to a different standard than Javon Wims when it comes to Bears wide receivers ejected for punching Saints pest C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
McCaskey said on WMVP-AM’s “Waddle and Silvy” on Thursday that Wims “acted impulsively” when he was ejected for punching the Saints cornerback in Week 8. Wims “was immediately remorseful” and “worked his butt off to try to help the team” when his two-game suspension ended, McCaskey said.
Miller, though, was warned all last week to ignore Gardner-Johnson’s yapping — the Bears even held a special team meeting about it — but lashed out anyway, punching him in the third quarter of Sunday’s wild-card playoff loss. Miller was ejected. He won’t be suspended, a source said this week, but is likely to be fined.
“I have a bigger problem with Anthony’s ejection because they sat him down and they told him, ‘Listen, watch out for this player. He’s a punk. He’s going to try to get under your skin. And with Darnell Mooney out, we really need you to be in this game and help this team,’ ” McCaskey said. “And Anthony had the benefit of having seen Javon’s experience.
“I think they need to be evaluated separately. I’ve got a bigger problem with Anthony’s ejection than I do -Javon’s.”
Will Miller return to the Bears next season? “That’s not up to me,” McCaskey said.
Either way, it’s bad news for Miller’s future with the team. The 2018 second-round pick has one year left on his contract.
