A book about cornerback Jaylon Johnson’s time with the Bears would have every possible kind of drama. Things can get pretty wild at Halas Hall sometimes, but his tenure has truly been unique.
Since being drafted at age 21, he has played for three head coaches and five defensive coordinators. He was on one of their worst teams ever in 2022 and the one last season that won a playoff game for the first time in 15 years.
He requested a trade, then walked it back and signed a contract extension — revealing his innermost personal struggles at the news conference to announce it. He also led a locker-room revolt against former coach Matt Eberflus that helped the Bears realize it was time to fire him.
And, going into Year 7, this story is “still being written,” Johnson pointed out.
“I don’t even think about how crazy it is,” he told the Sun-Times. “You just took me down memory lane, but I’m just where my feet are.
“And right now, this is the most confident, talented team we’ve had since I’ve been here and we have an opportunity to do something special. Bluntly speaking, we’ve never had the Super Bowl just being talked about as a tangible item for us here.”
Bears coach Ben Johnson has kept that ambition central as his team approaches its season opener Sunday at the Panthers. The Bears won the division last season and reached the second round of the playoffs, so the natural next step would be title contention.
While belief abounds in the offense, however, the Bears’ defense causes pause. It was unreliable last season, albeit with Jaylon Johnson sidelined by a core-muscle injury for most of it, and there are just as many questions going into this season.
Jaylon Johnson could answer some of those if he returns to the lockdown corner he was when he made the Pro Bowl in 2023 and ’24 and gave the Bears a solution to any opponent’s star wide receiver.
They arguably need him now more than ever. Fellow outside cornerback Tyrique Stevenson could go either way. Nickel corner Kyler Gordon isn’t around. On the back end, the Bears are trusting journeyman Xavier Woods and rookie Dillon Thieneman at safety.
It starts with being right physically, and Johnson was far from it when he returned from surgery late last season. He gave what he could, but he wasn’t his usual self.
Then he clocked 21 miles per hour on a sprint at the beginning of training camp, a good sign. He has continued to improve, but has never quite considered himself all the way back.
“I’m getting there, getting to where I’m comfortable,” he said. “But I still feel myself getting stronger, getting better, and I’m always going to leave some room for improvement.”
He’ll get a decent test against Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who was the offensive rookie of the year last season. He hasn’t earned the glowing reviews Johnson has given to superstars, but he credited McMillan as “somebody you’ve got to respect.”
He mentions respect often. He gives so much weight to concept of earning it and using it well. It took time even for Ben Johnson to earn his respect, because Jaylon Johnson had heard it all before from new coaches, but he has it now in part because their goals are aligned.
He listened intently when Ben Johnson pulled him aside in training camp and said he needed more from him, both at cornerback and as an essential voice within the team.
Ben Johnson said Tuesday he “could feel a fire lit under” Jaylon Johnson the last few weeks, and Jaylon hinted that their conversation coincided with that spark. Late in camp, Jaylon interrupted a practice, called the players together and challenged their effort. The energy surged. He’s an elite cornerback, sure, but he can bring a lot more to the Bears this season.