Bears GM speaks out after superstar goes down with injury

Johnson was placed on the non-football injury list when veterans reported to Chicago for camp. He suffered the injury during offseason training, according to Bears general manager Ryan Poles.

Johnson is coming off his second consecutive Pro Bowl and is headed into the second year of a four-year, $76 million deal. He has dealt with a number of injuries over his career, playing no more than 15 games in a season over the first four years of his career. In 2024, he played a full season for the first time, starting all 17 games with a career-high 1,032 snaps.

An extended absence into the regular season would force Chicago to find another starting cornerback among their veteran depth, but Poles said that the team is not “overly concerned” about a long-term injury.

“We’ve got a lot of faith that he’s going to put in the time to rehab and be his full self when he comes back,” said Poles on Tuesday.

2023 fifth-rounder Terell Smith will likely step into a first-team role in Johnson’s absence. Chicago largely relied on a cornerback trio of Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson and Kyler Gordon last year; Smith is the only remaining defensive back on the roster who played at least 150 snaps on the boundary for the Bears in 2024, according to Pro Football Focus.

Offseason signings Nick McCloud and Tre Flowers may also see a bump in reps over the coming weeks as Johnson rehabs his leg with his eyes on returning for the Bears’ Week 1 opener against the Vikings.