LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Bears coach Lovie Smith on Friday announced that defensive tackle Tank Johnson will be deactivated for Sunday’s home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

On Thursday, the third-year pro was charged with six misdemeanor counts of possession of a firearm without a Firearm Owner’s Identification card after Gurnee police executed a search warrant at his home.

Starting defensive tackles Tank Johnson (left) and Tommie Harris will both miss Sunday's game against the Buccaneers.

“This was my decision, not a Bears (decision),” Smith said. “This isn’t discipline or anything like that. Each week I decide which 46 guys give us the best opportunity to win based on a lot of factors. (It’s) only that.

“I think it’s hard to be as focused as you should be going through things like that and to be able to give your best effort on the weekend.”

The Bears are not permitted to fine or suspend Johnson or any of their players for non-football-related incidents because all of those matters are regulated by the NFL’s personal conduct policy. The league normally doesn’t take any disciplinary action until the situation is resolved in court.

Johnson has had brushes with the law before. Last March, prosecutors dropped battery and resisting arrest charges filed against the defensive tackle in February stemming from a scuffle outside a Chicago nightclub. That arrest violated his probation that resulted from a guilty plea to a misdemeanor unlawful gun possession charge.

“It’s an unfortunate incident and we’re certainly not taking this or treating this lightly,” general manager Jerry Angelo said Friday. “We’re still gathering some of the facts. It’s only been 24 hours, so we’re not passing judgment.

“We’re very disappointed. We’re embarrassed by this. It’s unfortunate that it did happen and in particular it happened to Tank. He’s had a history now of doing things and that history has got to stop. I tell players that it’s not their talent that determines their career, it’s their character that determines their career, and we’re very much adamant about that.

“Each situation is a little bit different—we look at each situation that way as well—but at some point a player has to be held accountable for his actions, not only on the field but off the field as well.”

Angelo stressed that the Bears will not tolerate a string of indiscretions by any player.

“If players are smart, they’re not going to flirt with the line,” he said. “They know where the lines are and they better make sure that they don’t cross any lines. No player is that good. I made sure that Tank understood that, and I would speak to any player on that count.

“We will not condone a history of poor decisions or actions that are going to affect us, not only from a credibility standpoint, but distract or impair our goal, and our goal is to win football games, to win a championship. Anything that distracts us from that goal, that’s going to be treated very severely. I could assure you of that and I speak for everybody in the organization.

“Saying that, we believe in Tank. He’s not a bad person. He’s made bad decisions. We’ve seen that. But he’s not a bad person, so I’m not going to sit here and indict him on anything other than he’s made poor choices and he’s done some stupid things. He himself will tell you that, and we’re moving on.”

Johnson was contrite when he spoke to the media Friday for the first time since his arrest.

“The first thing that I would like to say is that I apologize to the Bears organization, my teammates and my family for causing a distraction that I did cause this week,” he said. “Obviously, that’s not my intention. My main focus is on this championship season and how well we’re doing. I hate to be a deterrent from all the good that’s going on here at Halas Hall.”

“He’s very remorseful,” Angelo said. “Tank comes from a tough background. We knew that coming in. He’s got a good heart. He’s a good person. He’s grown a lot. Those of us who are here every day do see that. It’s unfortunate he took another step backwards.”

Johnson thanked teammates and other members of the Bears family for the backing that he's received.

“This whole organization has been very supportive of me, very patient,” he said. “For that, I’m grateful. Obviously, when situations like this come up, it’s never a good thing. But I think for the most part that people understand the type of person that I am and my beliefs and they know that I’m a good person.”

With Pro Bowl defensive tackle Tommie Harris out for the season with a ruptured hamstring that required surgery on Tuesday, Johnson’s absence will further deplete the position Sunday. Ian Scott and Alfonso Boone are expected to start with Antonio Garay and Israel Idonije also seeing action.

In other news Friday, middle linebacker Brian Urlacher (toe, probable) and wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad (hand, questionable) were added to the injury report after missing practice.

Center Olin Kreutz (knee), guard Ruben Brown (shoulder) and quarterback Kyle Orton (illness) all returned to practice Friday after sitting out Thursday and were removed from the injury report.

Running back Thomas Jones (ankle), tackle John Tait (ankle), cornerback Nathan Vasher (hamstring), safety Todd Johnson (ankle) and linebacker Leon Joe (hamstring) remained questionable. Jones and Johnson practiced Friday, while Tait, Vasher and Joe sat out for the second straight day.