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Earlier this week, the topic of Jaylon Johnson approached Ben Johnson as he began the week at the podium, preparing for the Minnesota Vikings.
"I just saw Jaylon in the weight room, he seems like he's excited about where he is right now," Johnson said on Wednesday. "He's hopeful that he's going to be able to be out on the practice field here in the near future."
Now, the future might be soon for the Chicago Bears' lockdown cornerback.
The Bears announced they've activated Johnson's 21-day practice window on Friday, inching closer to a return for the Utah product.
What we know:
The Bears' 21-day window for Johnson allows the team to evaluate Johnson before making a final decision. However, that final decision has to come.
The NFL created the 21-day practice window as a period for players on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list or injured reserve to practice without counting against the 53-man roster. During these 21 days, the team has to decide if they'll add the practicing player to the active roster, place them on season-ending injured reserve or release them.
Obviously, the Bears aren't going to release Johnson. But, based on Ben Johnson's comments, he might return soon. Jaylon Johnson has been out since suffering a groin injury in Week 2, which is a separate injury from the groin injury he suffered while training in preparation for training camp.
The 21-day window will include three games: vs. Pittsburgh, at Philadelphia and at Green Bay.
If Johnson returns, he'll return by Dec. 7 vs. the Packers at the latest. He might return earlier, which would mean getting Johnson back for the Black Friday game against the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles.
An early return depends on how Jaylon responds during his practice window. However, Ben Johnson said the decision to open that practice window was because Jaylon looked healthy.
"We'll see how long it will take to get him back in shape, but he's in a good spot right now," Ben Johnson said. "I think that being out on the grass is going to be a good thing for him."
Big picture view:
Getting Johnson back wouldn't just return the Bears' top cornerback into the defensive rotation, it would assist the defense in one of its biggest needs.
The Bears' secondary just needs bodies, point blank.
Johnson isn't the only Bears cornerback to miss time this season. Nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon is also currently on injured reserve, Tyrique Stevenson missed a game earlier this season with a shoulder injury and Josh Blackwell missed the win over the Giants with a concussion. That's just the secondary, too. Linebacker TJ Edwards is recovering from hand surgery and a hamstring injury, while pass rusher Dayo Odeyingbo was lost for the year with a torn Achilles tendon.
The Bears have adapted well, which led to the addition of CJ Gardner-Johnson, but there's no replacing a player like Jaylon Johnson.
"That's the nature of the game that we play. You have to constantly be able to evolve and change," Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said. "I think you get into trouble when you just say, this is who we are, this is what we do and we're just going to go do that. That may not be what the guys that we have out there playing, that may not be what suits them the best. Each and every week, each and every game plan, you're looking at, okay, what do our guys do well? And then how do we put them in those positions based on what we're seeing offensively? How do we put them in positions to have success?"
Now, with Jaylon Johnson potentially returning, the Bears' defense might be returning some of its key pieces just in time to take a swing at the playoffs.
"We could potentially have some reinforcements coming between when we get T.J. back, when we get Jaylon back, when we get Kyler back, I think that those are three guys, going into the season, that we had a lot of high hopes for with what they can do," Ben Johnson said. "I certainly have a tremendous amount of respect for all three of those guys, competing against them the last few years. I'll be excited when we get all three back on the field together."
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