The Bears remain unsure about top cornerback Jaylon Johnson’s availability for the season opener Sept. 8 against the Vikings, but the upside is he’s progressing enough that they won’t put him on Injured Reserve to start the season. That would require him to miss at least the first four games.
“That’s been the target date, but we’ll see,” coach Ben Johnson said Tuesday before roster cuts were due.
Johnson has yet to practice as he recovers from what the team said was a leg injury he sustained while training in the offeseason, though he has done some light workouts.
One concern for Johnson even if his leg is sound is whether he’ll have enough stamina after the interruption to his offseason conditioning. He typically plays every snap and last season played 97% of the Bears’ total defensive snaps.
“We’re doing as much as we can to make sure that conditioning is where it needs to be, but there really is no substitute for putting on pads and playing the game at full speed,” Johnson said. “Each guy’s different, particularly guys that have had success in this league for a number of years. They’re a little bit different than a rookie that you don’t know as much about. He does get a little benefit of the doubt because he’s played this game at a high level.”
If Johnson is out, the Bears likely would start Tyrique Stevenson and Nahshon Wright. Wright has had an excellent training camp filling in for Johnson with the first string.
Going into his sixth season, he’s one of the Bears’ best players regardless of position. He made the Pro Bowl each of the last two seasons and is their third-most expense player this season with a salary-cap hit of $21 million. With an average annual salary of $19 million, Johnson is 13th in the NFL at his position.