It’s never a good thing when you’re going through training camp without one of your best players. The Chicago Bears learned they would have to deal with this reality when Jaylon Johnson informed them he’d suffered an injury setback while training during the summer. While details weren’t revealed to the public, head coach Ben Johnson said it would be a couple of weeks before the star cornerback returned. It was unfortunate, but the bright side was it’d give other cornerbacks on the roster some much-needed reps.
However, things took a bleaker turn on Thursday. Coach Johnson was asked for an update on Jaylon. His wording this time didn’t inspire much confidence about the prognosis. Forget returning for camp. There is now a growing possibility that Johnson may not be ready for opening night against Minnesota.
“I think there is a scenario where he will be ready for Week 1, and that is really the target day. I know he is working hard and diligently to get there for that and with those types of injuries that he’s got, you just never know. You never know. It’s still early in that process, but I know he’s attacking that rehab really well.”
The timing of this is brutal. Chicago faces a stacked lineup of opposing wide receivers through the first three weeks. Their pass rush still has serious questions about it. Facing such a gauntlet without their All-Pro cornerback would not be ideal.
Jaylon Johnson absence will reveal the strength of the Bears’ depth.
One good thing about GM Ryan Poles is he takes the corner position seriously. He’s done a great job over the past four offseasons of loading up that position with young talent. They still have Kyler Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson, along with the underrated Terell Smith and rookie 5th round pick Zah Frazier. They’ve also seen promising practices from veteran Nahshon Wright, who has ties to new secondary coach Al Harris. That doesn’t even mention Josh Blackwell, who’s been a quality nickel option in the past. The Bears can still be a solid defense without Jaylon Johnson. Still, that isn’t the goal. They want to be a great defense. That won’t happen until he is on the field. Chicago likely won’t know the outcome of this until the end of August. Hopefully, his prognosis improves by then.
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