Bears

• Bears DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson will play slot corner in Chicago, per HC Ben Johnson. (Courtney Cronin)
• Johnson said he hopes CB Kyler Gordon‘s IR stint is short-term, possibly the “four-week variety.” (Scott Bair)
• Johnson on Gardner-Johnson: “He’s a competitive player. Felt that during training camp that year I was with him (in Detroit).” (Kevin Fishbain)

Lions

Lions DB Brian Branch is set to return from suspension in Week 10. Detroit S coach Jim O’Neil is glad to have Branch back and thinks he’ll be extra motivated going forward.

“I think you’ll get an even more motivated Brian Branch,” O’Neil said, via Tim Twentyman of the team’s site. “So, I’m really excited to see how he takes the field on Sunday. It’s great to have him back. He’s one of my all-time favorite people and all-time favorite players I ever coached. I love his competitive spirit. I’m excited to get him back out there. It’s scary. Scary because he’s clearly one of the best players at his position in the league.”

Detroit is currently second in the NFC North at 5-2 overall. Lions HC Dan Campbell said he reminded players how tight things are becoming in the NFC.

“I mentioned to the team yesterday, I just kind of put up where everything is stacking in the NFC right now. It’s very competitive, especially at this point in the season for one conference,” Campbell said. “But all I stated was, ‘Hey, this is where we’re at, this is where these teams are at, and this thing’s about to shake out within the month of November.’ You’re going to start seeing the risers and fallers, and a lot of these teams are playing each other. We’re one of them. So, it really is just handle your business, man. And the bottom line is, find a way to win your division. And we’ve got Minnesota coming in here, that’s number one. And then you worry about the next one after that.”

Vikings

Vikings QB Carson Wentz said he wanted to play through the pain of his shoulder injury because of the opportunity for him to start and play in meaningful football games.

“Just being back in the role of starting meaningful football games, it’s fun,” Wentz said, via PFT. “I’m not going to lie. It’s fun. It’s what I grew up dreaming of doing and all the things. And when you lose it for a little bit, it’s hard to want to give it up. So even with pain, and all the things that I knew were going to come with it, was I want to play. I want to be out there and I want to be helping this team however I can.”

• Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell said there is nothing left for J.J. McCarthy to demonstrate to show that he’s healthy enough to play Sunday in Detroit. He’ll be the starter. (Seifert)
• O’Connell said TE Josh Oliver will likely be out this week...