For the first time all preseason, [Bears](https://chicago.suntimes.com/bears) cornerback [Jaylon Johnson](https://chicago.suntimes.com/bears/2025/09/02/bears-star-cb-jaylon-johnson-hopeful-to-play-opener-vs-vikings-but-no-guarantees) practiced Wednesday.
Johnson, who suffered a severe groin injury while preparing for the start of training camp in mid-July, participated in the portion of practice open to the media. He said Tuesday that he was hoping to get cleared to practice — and he apparently was. The Bears don’t need to submit an injury report to the NFL until Thursday.
Johnson said Tuesday that his conditioning wasn’t yet such that he could have played a game right way. The lead up to Monday night’s game against the Vikings, then, will be important.
“I know he’s itching to get back,” safety Jaquan Brisker said before practice. “I’m itching to see him get back because we left out with a good note during the summer, so I know what the fall’s gonna come. I’ve already seen him put in the body of work.”
Brisker practiced Wednesday after leaving with a trainer a week earlier. The safety claimed he wasn’t hurt in the first place and that he had a “a little personal issue that I just had to fix that same day.”
Linebacker T.J. Edwards was the only starter not spotted during the part of practice open to the media.
### DJ=Deebo?
Receiver DJ Moore continues to work with running backs during part of the team’s practices. Lining him up in the backfield has drawn comparisons to Deebo Samuel, the hard-charging receiver whom the 49ers traded to the Commanders this offseason.
“I have heard the Deebo comparisons,” Moore said. “You know, you can’t get away from it, not with social media.”
Was it far?
“Nah, I’m myself,” he said. “I love Deebo, but I’m myself.”
### Notes
• A Chicago-area native and one of the Bears’ two longest-tenured players, Cole Kmet doesn’t need to be told that the Packers’ trade for Micah Parsons was a big deal. He wasn’t ready to bite when asked about the move, though.
”Stuff like it goes down every year in the league,” he said. “So, I honestly haven’t thought too much about it. I’ll worry about them when we play them.”
• Harrison Smith, a six-time Pro Bowl safety who has been out three weeks with an undisclosed issue, didn’t practice Wednesday but Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said he was hopeful he could ramp up his workload during the week.