Jaylon Johnson was a good player from the moment he walked through the doors of Halas Hall. He quickly became a starter as a rookie in 2020 and quickly established himself as the best cornerback on the team. This eventually culminated in two Pro Bowl nods in 2023 and 2024. Johnson had a case for being one of the best in the NFL. Unfortunately, injuries derailed most of his 2025 season. Now entering 2026, the 28-year-old is operating with urgency, knowing his contract is coming up again. This is likely his last chance to get a good payday before age catches up to him.
However, Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson recognized something was missing. The cornerback was an outstanding player on the field, but most of his impact came in a vacuum. It was him against whoever he was covering from snap to snap. Usually, good teams need their best players to be leaders as well. That has never been something Johnson embraced. His more reserved nature and playing with more vocal teammates prevented it. This year was different. Players noticed Johnson speaking up more often, especially later in training camp. The impact it’s been having has been hard to miss.
So what changed?
Coach Johnson found the right person to motivate Jaylon Johnson.
The cornerback has played for several coaches by this point. It is difficult to inspire a player like him through straight coaching. He’s already self-motivated. That didn’t stop the Bears’ head coach. Johnson is always crafty at finding ways to convey important messages to his team. He saved one of his best for this summer when he brought in a man named Nick Lavery. He is a Special Forces operator renowned for his courage and battlefield success, earning a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and three Purple Hearts.
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Lavery was deployed to Afghanistan in 2013, where insurgents attacked him and his team. He was grievously wounded but somehow managed to get himself and his men out of danger safely. The wounds he suffered resulted in the loss of his right leg. Rather than settle into retirement as most would, Levery fought his way back and deployed again in 2015, becoming the first in American military history to do so as an above-the-knee amputee. He would later detail this story and the rest of his career in a book called “Objective Secure.”
He spoke to the Bears at length about all of it.
The reactions to the event were felt across the entire building. Perhaps nobody more so than Jaylon Johnson. He admitted that the encounter profoundly affected his views on leadership and mental strength.
“When he came and he spoke to the team, it was like, ‘Damn, that’s the guy that literally dug into his leg, stopped the bleeding and it’s just like when you have somebody of that, I would say caliber, of toughness, of mental just strength, toughness, I think for me it’s just that’s inspiring … when he talks to us about leadership, talked to us about holding guys accountable and what that looks like, for me it was easy to speak on the team when we’re not playing to the level that we’re supposed to play at. And for him, when he spoke on it, for him, it’s like when you’re not doing what you’re supposed to do, guys die. It’s just like, damn, for us, we play a game, but guys’ lives are depending on it. When players don’t perform well, players get fired, coaches get fired. For us, it’s just doing it for each other, doing it for your brother.”
It wasn’t long after this that Johnson began asserting himself more in the locker room and on the field. He held guys accountable, telling them the effort they were putting in wasn’t good enough. If they want to be champions, they have to push through the pain. Push through the fatigue. Reach for something more. That is what great teams do.
The timing of this couldn’t be better. Chicago has a need for defensive leadership after losing so much of it in free agency with the departures of Kevin Byard, Jaquan Brisker, and Tremaine Edmunds. With Coby Bryant out, Johnson decided to step into the void. Teammates were surprised. Coaches were thrilled. They understood the implication. When Johnson, probably the best player on that defense, makes his feelings known, everybody will have to listen. Don’t be shocked if the Bears defense plays with some extra fire this season.
