Jaylon Johnson, Bears
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Cornerback Jaylon Johnson of the Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Bears defense faces a couple of significant questions in the secondary as Week 1 nears, the biggest of which involves the health of cornerback Jaylon Johnson.
Chicago made a significant move involving Johnson on Tuesday, August 26, which also happened to be cutdown day in the NFL.
“2-time Pro Bowl CB Jaylon Johnson will be removed from the NFI list,” Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reported via X. “His status for the season opener? ‘That’s been the target date. But we’ll see.'”
2-time Pro Bowl CB Jaylon Johnson will be removed from the NFI list.
His status for the season opener?
'That’s been the target date. But we’ll see.'
More in the updated #Bears roster tracker with comments from Ben Johnson.https://t.co/FXtO8XMwVB
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) August 26, 2025
Thus, the news is both good and bad.
Johnson is no longer on the non-football injury list, which means he’s not a guarantee to miss the first month of the season due to his ailment. However, it is uncertain if Chicago will have its best defender at its disposal when the team opens the campaign against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night, September. 8.
Jaylon Johnson Among Best Cornerbacks in NFL Over Past 2 Seasons
Jaylon Johnson Injury Bears Injuries Bears News
GettyChicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson.
Johnson landed on the non-football injury list back in July after sustaining an unspecified leg injury while training away from the team.
The 26-year-old is on the cusp of his sixth NFL season and has established himself as one of the league’s top corners over the past two years. Johnson earned trips to the Pro Bowl in each of the previous two campaigns, while the league named him a second-team All-Pro in 2023.
Johnson’s paycheck reflects his rise to the top of the sport, as he is entering the second season of a four-year, $76 million contract in 2025.
Over the past two campaigns, Johnson has combined for 18 pass breakups, eight tackles for loss, six interceptions, two forced fumbles and a defensive touchdown. Pro Football Focus ranked Johnson 20th out of 222 cornerbacks who saw enough snaps at the position to qualify based on overall player grade.
PFF registered Johnson as the 18th-best cornerback against the run and the 29th-best in coverage. However, it’s important to remember these numbers skew based on snap totals (Johnson sees a ton when healthy) and the quality of pass-catcher a CB is covering on passing downs (Johnson often lines up against the opposing team’s top threat while in man-coverage looks).
He allowed 32 receptions last season and afforded opposing quarterbacks an average rating of 85.7 when throwing the football to his man in coverage, per PFF.
Tyrique Stevenson Poses Biggest Question in Bears’ Secondary Outside of Jaylon Johnson’s Health
Tyrique Stevenson
GettyChicago Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson.
Chicago is in reasonable shape in the secondary if Johnson starts the year healthy.
Kyler Gordon is among the better nickel cornerbacks in the league, while Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard III comprise a quality duo of safeties — despite Brisker’s recent injury problems that held him out of 11 games last season and Byard turning 32 years in August.
The biggest question mark all summer, outside of Johnson’s health, is what Chicago would decide for the CB2 spot. A training camp/preseason battle developed there between Tyrique Stevenson, who owned the job for essentially the entirety of his first two seasons, and fifth-round pick Terell Smith.
Unfortunately, Smith sustained a torn patellar tendon in his knee during preseason action against the Buffalo Bills and will miss the entirety of the upcoming campaign.
Former third-round pick Nahshon Wright, previously of the Dallas Cowboys and Vikings, has shown flashes this summer, but it’s more than likely Stevenson will win the job by default. However, he will enter the year as the weak link in the secondary chain — assuming Johnson is healthy — after last season as a below-average cornerback based on PFF grades (134th out of 222 qualifying players).