Jaylon Johnson endured probably the most miserable season of his Chicago Bears career from an individual perspective. It started with a groin injury he suffered while training in the spring. This caused him to miss training camp. If that weren’t bad enough, it got considerably worse early in the season when he returned to action and immediately tore his core. That caused him to miss months of action. Johnson wouldn’t return again until Week 13 for the big matchup against the Eagles in Philadelphia.
Here’s the thing, though. It’s possible Johnson still returned too soon. The cornerback admitted this past week that he was still in a lot of pain when he rejoined the team. The issue didn’t truly resolve until the playoffs. Conventional wisdom says he shouldn’t have been playing, but Johnson did anyway. Why? He admitted that part of it was wanting to contribute to what was becoming the best team the Bears had fielded in years. Johnson, who’d endured multiple bad seasons since arriving in 2020, didn’t want to miss the opportunity to play for a good one.
“I easily could have sat on my ass and not played and just watch it be what it was, but for me, I felt like what I had to give was enough to contribute to the team,” Johnson said. “Of course, it wasn’t nowhere near who I could be. I feel like people know that. For me, it was just going out there competing, just wanting to be there.”
Jaylon Johnson has always been a competitor.
His goal is to play against the best. It’s been hard to do that when not making the playoffs every year. His first five seasons were a stark reminder that you don’t get as many opportunities as you think. It likely went through his head that this could be the only chance he’ll get at postseason football. Fully healthy or not, he didn’t plan to miss that. Besides, the Bears needed help. Their pass defense was a mess for much of last season. Even him at 70% was good enough to at least staunch some of the bleeding.
It reminds you how much Jaylon Johnson loves football. Only the true sickos would put themselves through borderline agony every week to play it. In the end, it worked out. Johnson’s return helped stabilize the defense enough to help the Bears finish the season strong. They won the division and hosted two playoff games, beating the Green Bay Packers and coming up short against the Los Angeles Rams in overtime. No doubt he left that field wondering how different it might’ve been if he were fully healthy.
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Now he is.
There are no setbacks thus far.
Johnson arrived at training camp without any training mishaps. He’s in great shape and by his own admission pain-free. He didn’t wait long to make his presence felt, too, picking off Caleb Williams during a red zone drill on Friday. The cornerback is rounding into his old form, and just in time. Johnson admitted that 2026 feels like a contract year for him. Next season will be the last on his current deal. At 27 years old, this is probably his last chance to get another bite at the apple with a big extension.
That means he must have a major bounce-back season. The Bears have no problem with that. A motivated Johnson has always been a star player. Getting him back at Pro Bowl form makes life for everybody else on that defense a little bit easier. What remains unknown is whether anybody at cornerback can follow his lead. Tyrique Stevenson still struggles with consistency. Kyler Gordon is still hurt. Someone has to step up.
