After injury sidelined Chicago's star cornerback for most of last season, a healthy Jaylon Johnson returns to the gridiron determined to reclaim his title as football’s premier defender.
The Chicago Bears had two key players in the secondary go down with injuries last season.
First, it was Kyler Gordon.
Gordon dealt with hamstring issues in the preseason, and they caused him to miss the first four games of the regular season. He would return against the Washington Commanders in Week 6, but was only healthy for the following game versus the New Orleans Saints before going to the injured reserve with groin and calf injuries.
He would eventually return against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13. However, Gordon reaggravated his groin injury the following week before the Green Bay Packers game, and went back on IR.
He returned in time for the playoffs.
Jaylon Johnson also got injured early in the season. He suffered a groin injury in Week 2 versus the Detroit Lions and didn't come back into the lineup until Week 13.
In hindsight, it was good to get both Johnson and Gordon back eventually. However, the defense as a whole suffered with both of them not on the field.
Johnson went on the "CHGO Chicago Bears Podcast" and talked about how fired up he is this season. He wants to remind everyone who the best cornerback in football is.
“I’m just looking forward to this season and really just reminding a lot of people who I am and I’m one of the best guys to play this game," Johnson said. "So I’m just looking forward to that opportunity.”
We saw glimpses of the kind of player Johnson is last season, once he came off the IR. There was the late-season meeting with the Cleveland Browns, where Johnson ripped the ball out of Jerry Jeudy's hands for an interception, which saved a touchdown.
With Johnson and Gordon out for most of the year, the Bears struggled to stop the pass. Chicago allowed the 11th-most passing yards per game at 239.2.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Nahshon Wright stepped in for the injured Gordon and Johnson, but they looked downright awful at times in coverage. One of the most telling showings was against the Lions, where Wright had a PFF grade of under 50, and Gardner-Johnson came in at 28.2.
Now, the Bears don't have Gardner-Johnson or Wright, who both left in free agency. The backup corners are now Terrell Smith, Malik Muhammad, Dallis Flowers, K.C. Eziomume, Jaylon Jones, Dontae Manning and Josh Blackwell.
If either Gordon or Johnson go down with injuries again, it could be even more detrimental than last season.
Having Johnson and Gordon healthy in 2026 is going to be crucial for the Bears this season, now more than ever.
