Easily Jaylon Johnson‘s most eventful day on this website, Tuesday brought a spree of news pertaining to the contract-year Bears cornerback. The Bears gave Johnson permission to seek a trade, deviating from their previous stance, and discussed him with multiple teams. Ultimately, Johnson is still in Chicago. But Tuesday brought some important status updates.
Most notably, GM Ryan Poles said (via ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin) it would have taken an offer including a first- or second-round pick to pry Johnson from the Bears. This is in line with a report from Yahoo.com’s Charles Robinson, who notes the Bears were seeking a second-rounder in a deal Tuesday. Chicago wanted at least a Day 2 pick for the fourth-year starter, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler adds.
The Bears appeared ready to move Johnson, to the point the ascending cover man expected to be traded, per the Chicago Sun-Times’ Patrick Finley. Even with the stream of trade rumors and potential destinations – from Buffalo to San Francisco – swirling, Johnson still wants to be with the Bears beyond this season, Finley adds. Poles also wants Johnson to be with the team beyond 2023; that will require a hefty contract extension. Johnson also said in June he wanted to sign his second contract with the Bears, though negotiations have not gone smoothly.
Johnson, 24, has shown some well-timed growth. His coverage numbers, via Pro Football Focus or Pro-Football-Reference, are among the best in the league. The 2020 second-round pick ranks third among corners, per PFF, and his completion percentage yielded (50.0), yards per target (5.3) and passer rating as the closest defender (48.1) are considerably better than what he showed in the past. PFF had never previously rated Johnson higher than 50th in a season at his position. Johnson added a two-interception game, including a pick-six, against the Raiders in Week 7.
This profile may lead to some teams being leery of a big payment, and Johnson himself said he is not trying to reset the cornerback market or establish a new positional record. More consistent corners are candidates to do that, but Josh Norman once used a monster contract year to break the CB salary record — back in 2016, when the Panthers rescinding his franchise tag sent him to the market. Even if a Norman path is not viable, Johnson has made himself some money to start his contract year.
The Johnson camp’s ask prompted the Bears to let him look elsewhere, with a midday rumor circulating the team only did this to see what other clubs were willing to pay him. Poles said (via The Athletic’s Adam Jahns) the Bears and Johnson have not engaged in extensive negotiations, pointing to the team’s final offer having not yet emerged. Teams’ apparent unwillingness to include a second-rounder in trades also stands to shape the next round of Johnson talks with the Bears.
Montez Sweat now being in the extension picture, as the key variable in that equation, complicates matters for the Bears and Johnson. Sweat looks to have jumped the line for franchise tag priority. Considering the Bears drafted two second-round corners (Kyler Gordon, Tyrique Stevenson) in Poles’ first two years, it would certainly seem Sweat is the priority. If the recently initiated Sweat extension talks produce a deal, a tag would be open for Johnson. The corner tag is projected to come in north of $19M, however. No team has tagged a corner since the Rams cuffed Trumaine Johnson twice (2016-17).
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