The Bears might go the rest of training camp without their two best cornerbacks.
Slot cornerback Kyler Gordon is “week-to-week” with a hamstring injury, coach Ben Johnson said Wednesday.
“Hopefully, before camp ends, we’ll be able to get him back,” he said.
That remains the hope, too, for Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who hasn’t practiced all training camp after suffering what the team called a leg injury. He was put on the non-football injury list last month.
“He is right on track, he is right where he needs to be … ” Ben Johnson said. “Those type of injuries, you don’t know short-term, long-term. Everyone is a little bit different. But I think we’re going in the right direction right now.”
Defensive backs coach Al Harris said that Johnson will do just fine in Dennis Allen’s defense, even if he’s been limited to film study because of the injury.
“He has been attentive in meetings,” Harris said. “He has a high football IQ. … We’re getting to a point where we’re talking routes and things like that.”
Worried about their defensive back depth, the Bears signed cornerbacks Mekhi Garner and Kaleb Hayes, as well as safeties Millard Bradford and Mark Perry, on Tuesday. It was a practical pickup, as the Bears need the bodies to be able to practice until cut day Aug. 26.
“Schematically, we’ll be smart and keep it fairly simple in the game so that they can go out there and they can play ball,” Johnson said. “But I think we’ll be just fine in terms of getting the reps we need to get over the next couple weeks.”
Rookie cornerback Zah Frazier hasn’t practiced all camp because of personal reasons. The Bears got some good news Wednesday when Nick McCloud, who didn’t play Sunday, and Terell Smith, who left the Bills game with a groin injury, practiced.
The Bears signed Gordon to a three-year, $40 million contract extension in April, while Johnson signed a four-year, $76 million deal in March 2024.
