CHICAGO (AP) -Tank Johnson is getting yet another chance from the Chicago Bears.

Arrested three times in 18 months, and at a bar when his friend was shot to death last week - about 12 hours after he'd apologized for his latest run-in with the law - Johnson's punishment was a one-game suspension.

The team considered releasing Johnson but chose the lesser of sanctions when convinced that he would change his lifestyle and seek counseling, the defensive tackle's idea. He also submitted a list of changes he needed to make.

``If we didn't see the remorse, if we didn't see a plan in place - through him, not through us - I can't say that this decision would have been made the way it was made,'' general manager Jerry Angelo said Tuesday.

Angelo insisted the decision was not based on the Bears' playoff fortunes. The NFC North champions already have lost defensive tackle Tommie Harris to a season-ending hamstring injury and without nose tackle Johnson - who was inactive last week - their tired defense faltered before beating Tampa Bay 34-31 in overtime to clinch home-field advantage.

``Collectively, as an organization - ownership, coaches, players, myself - we all agreed that the right thing to do was to keep Tank and keep working with him,'' Angelo said of a decision that will certainly draw criticism.

``We know we're vulnerable going forward. I'm not going to sit here and tell you I'm 100 percent on board and trust all the things that we've talked to Tank about.''

Johnson will miss Sunday's meaningless game against the woeful Detroit Lions, but will be able to return for the season finale on New Year's Eve against the Green Bay Packers in what might be Brett Favre's final game.

Johnson was arrested Thursday, and the following night was at a night club when his friend, Willie B. Posey, was shot and killed. Johnson is not a suspect in the death.

Posey also had been arrested Thursday on drug possession charges when Gurnee police raided Johnson's home.

On the day after his arrest, Johnson publicly apologized and Angelo said it was time for the third-year player to start being accountable for his actions.

``The one-game suspension falls under conduct detrimental to the team based on his decision to go out on Friday night, creating a personal tragedy, a major distraction,'' Angelo said.

``He crossed the line and we acted on that.''

Johnson said he knows his next mistake off the field will be his last as a member of the Bears.

``I don't believe the team has to tell me it's my last chance, I know the opportunity that I have in front of me and it's great, it's immense and to squander that opportunity would be a tragedy at this point and that's not gonna happen,'' Johnson said.

Posey had been living at Johnson's home at the time of the raid. The day after their arrests, they went to Ice Bar in Chicago's River North area where Posey was shot during a fight early Saturday morning.

``It was a bad decision on my part. For whatever reason, I was out of my house, it was a bad decision, and for that decision I lost my best friend in the world,'' Johnson said. ``So that's a decision that I will live with for the rest of my life.''

How Johnson's latest arrest will affect an earlier probation is not clear. He is scheduled for a court date Jan. 9.

Johnson was sentenced to 18 months' probation and 40 hours community service in November 2005, after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge stemming from an arrest in which a nightclub valet reported seeing him with a handgun in his sport utility vehicle.

Johnson also was arrested last February after a confrontation outside a Chicago nightclub, but those charges were dropped after the police officer he allegedly fought with decided not to pursue the case.

Johnson has been a starter at defensive tackle along with Harris, who will miss the rest of the season after surgery on a torn hamstring muscle.

Angelo said he didn't know what punishment the league might dole out.

``We can't answer that. That'll come under the personal conduct policy,'' he said. ``There are some misdemeanor charges. That's going to be reviewed and done through the league and we'll just see how that unfolds.''

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