Very little about Jaylon Johnson's 2025 season went according to plan. Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson is anticipating things landing on the other end of the spectrum in 2026.
Johnson got a late start in last year's camp due to a groin injury. He was inactive in Week 1 before reaggravating the injury upon his season debut in the team's second game against Detroit. Johnson subsequently underwent core muscle surgery and was placed on Injured Reserve, not appearing in a game again until Week 13. All told, Johnson finished the year with six starts (seven games overall) and 64 percent of the defensive snaps. Within that limited sample, Pro Football Focus ranked him 70th of 114 corners in 2026 (58.7 grade).
It'll essentially go down as a lost year
due to the prolonged absence and limited snap count upon Johnson's return. His head coach, however, is projecting things to look quite different for the former Pro Bowler in the upcoming season.
“I could feel a fire lit under him," Johnson said. "I don’t know what it was, but you could feeling really ignite there back half of training camp. I think he’s been really strong. … From my perspective, I think we got a player who’s got a chance to be playing his best football this year.”
While Johnson was back on the injury report following a knock sustained in joint practice with the Tennessee Titans, the prognosis is good for him to start the season on time and in a much different place, physically, than he began last year. For Ben Johnson to carry this perception of his top defensive back into the start of the regular season has to feel like a massive win (in addition to the health side of things).
There are a handful of questions around this Bears defense that persist, on paper, at all three levels. The secondary is going to have to compensate for a lot as the rotation sorts itself on the front end. Having a defensive fixture in Jaylon Johnson — who totaled six interceptions between 2023 and 2024 — not only healthy but in a place to lead the defense in an emotional sense could be something that yields massive dividends and could compensate for a lot.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Ben Johnson is expecting a return to form for Bears CB Jaylon Johnson
