As we continue our list of the ten Chicago Bears with the most to prove in 2026, we’ve reached a fan favorite at number six. So far, we’ve seen Tory Taylor, Braxton Jones, Rome Odunze, and TJ Edwards make the list.
At number six? It’s Jaylon Johnson.
From 2019 to 2024, the Bears didn’t have many positives on the football field. But one positive they did have was Jaylon Johnson. Johnson joined the Bears in 2020 and immediately started as a rookie. During his time here, he’s had Chuck Pagano, Sean Desai,
Alan Williams, Matt Eberflus (technically), Eric Washington, and Dennis Allen as defensive coordinators. That’s absurd that his coaching staff has been overturned as often as it has.
Despite Johnson basically having a new defensive coordinator every year, his play has been consistent. Johnson has reached two Pro Bowls and was second-team All-Pro in 2023. Johnson earned himself a second contract with the Bears due to his stellar play.
Johnson enters 2026 with two years remaining on his contract. In 2027, Johnson’s cap number is $25 million. The Bears could save $16 million if they choose to move on from him. The Bears could also negotiate a contract extension with Johnson after this season and extend him and lower his cap hit for the 2027 season.
Based on Johnson’s play before 2025, an extension would be a no-brainer. But unfortunately for Johnson, 2025 was a struggle. Johnson missed 10 games due to injury, and when he was on the field, he looked nowhere close to the player he had been previously.
Johnson allowed a career-worst 73% completion percentage when targeted. QBs also gained 11.6 yards per target at Johnson, which was also a career-worst. Not only was that a career-worst, but it was a career-worst by 2.5 yards per attempt.
Most Bears fans would tell you that this story is not complicated. Johnson tried to play through injuries, and his play struggled because of it. That very well could be the reasoning behind the slip in Johnson’s play. If Johnson is healthy in 2026 and returns to the player he has been, the Bears would almost certainly give Johnson some sort of extension and keep him a part of the secondary moving forward.
But, and of course, there is a but, there is always a but when we are discussing the 10 players with the most to prove. But if Johnson doesn’t return to form, the Bears are going to have some tough discussions about Jaylon’s future in Chicago.
As we mentioned previously, the Bears have a pretty easy out on Johnson’s contract after this season. That would probably be something the Bears would like to avoid because there are plenty of questions right now facing the Bears outside corners, and releasing the one consistent player you’ve had back there over the last half a decade may seem counterintuitive.
But who will Jaylon Johnson be in 2026? As we said, if he’s the player he’s been in the past, this conversation is a quick one. Johnson will be back, most likely with an extension. But what if Johnson is much better than the 2025 version, but well short of the 2020 to 2024 version? Do you want to pay that player $25 million a year? Do you want to extend a player who may have declining skills and has missed 24 games over the first 6 years of his career?
The other thing we have to remember is that this Bears team, since Ben Johnson’s arrival, has been operating as a new regime in Chicago. There has already been a significant overhaul of the roster from the 2024 squad, and that should continue leading into the 2027 squad.
If Johnson is good but not great, there’s certainly a possibility that the Bears decide to keep Johnson on the roster and not extend him. While you don’t want to pay a good corner $25 million, you certainly don’t want to be in a position next year with complete uncertainty at corner.
That uncertainty may help keep Johnson around for at least one more season after this one, even if he doesn’t get all the way back. When you look at the Bears’ situation at corner. We know Kyler Gordon is best at nickel and Josh Blackwell is largely a special teams player, but is also best suited at nickel when he plays defense.
On the outside, the Bears will wait to see what they have in rookie Malik Muhammad. Terell Smith is coming off a significant injury and entering the final year of his contract, and Jaylon Jones is a solid backup but nothing more.
That leaves Tyrique Stevenson, also entering the final year of his contract, with even more uncertainty than Johnson and Johnson himself. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that, of the outside corners currently on the roster, the only one certain to be on the 2027 roster is Muhammad, and that certainly helps Johnson as the Bears continue to try to rebuild this defense in Dennis Allen’s vision.
This is a big year for Johnson. If he plays well in Allen’s scheme, stays healthy and looks like the Jaylon of old, he could be in line for another contract extension (Johnson just turned 27). If he plays decently, he could see himself return for one more make-or-break season, but if he looks like the Johnson of 2025, there is a distinct possibility that the Bears make the hard choice to release Johnson and look to the draft or free agency to fill the void.
That’s why Jaylon Johnson comes in at number six on our list of the ten Chicago Bears with the most to prove.
