Jaylon Johnson Makes Good on Promise

The Bears cornerback said last week he would return for OTAs this week and the team showed over social media he was back at a closed Halas Hall practice.

USA Today

As promised in a radio interview last week, Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson did indeed return to Halas Hall for organized team activities this week.

The team posted a photo of Johnson back at work on the practice field via Instagram and Twitter.

The fourth-year cornerback is in line for a contract extension and last week had said during an ESPN interview that he had taken the two previous weeks of OTAs for personal business including spending time with his young daughter.

Johnson doesn't seem worried about the contract and possible talks for an extension when he was on ESPN's Key, Jay & Max last week.

"For me, it's just about going out and being who I am," Johnson said on ESPN. "I know I can be a dominant corner. I am a dominant corner in this league, following No. 1 wide receivers and just finding ways to continue to do my job at a high rate, continue to be a better teammate, continue to find ways to win.

"With winning comes paychecks, and I think at the end of the day, I need to focus on winning. That's what I'm worried about going into Year 4."

Johnson has made just one interception in three years, although his coverage at right cornerback has been exemplary. It's been good enough that opponents went away from him rather than attack him, as his pass-breakup opportunties dropped. He had 24 pass defenses in his first two seasons and only seven last year. Johnson has been good enough that the defense frequently assigned him the task of covering an opponent's best receiver even when it went against what they wanted to do with the defense scheme-wise.

Strictly business 💼 pic.twitter.com/TbHf4HNX6Y

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) June 6, 2023

Now Johnson will be an a secondary with an elevated level of depth and possibly talent with rookie second-round pick Tyrique Stevenson and also fifth-rounder Terell Smith joining the group.

It will be the first chance for new cornerbacks coach/defensive passing game coordinator to work with Johnson on the field. Hoke said last week there was value in being on hand to work with coaches rather than avoiding on-field voluntary work.

"Just the subtle changes of how I teach and the way it was taught before from a technical standpoint as much as anything else," Hoke said. "The package is the package, the scheme's the scheme, but there are nuances about how you teach certain things, so that's the big part of it."

The only member of the secondary yet to return is safety Eddie Jackson, who had a season-ending November foot injury the team reported as not serious enough to require surgery.

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