Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson currently ranks outside the top 100 players at his position in the NFL when he is supposed to be the anchor of a secondary the team planned on making its best defensive unit entering this season — and rival teams have taken notice and adjusted accordingly.
Pro Football Network currently affords Johnson a 56.8 player impact score through five weeks, which ranks 107th among all cornerbacks. Opposing offenses are treating the Bears’ so-called CB1 as such, targeting a total of 23 times through five games. At 4.6 passes coming his way weekly, Johnson is on pace for 78 targets this season, which will tie the highest total of Johnson’s career (his rookie campaign in 2020).
The popular strategy of targeting Johnson has also, unfortunately, paid off to the tune of 19 receptions for opposing pass-catchers who have tallied a total of 354 yards gained and one touchdown scored.
Johnson has just one pass defensed and one forced fumble in five starts, which means he isn’t making splash plays on the football like during his back-to-back Pro Bowl campaigns in 2023-24, when the CB produced 18 pass breakups, six INTs and two forced fumbles across a total of 31 games played.
Jaylon Johnson Nearing End of Contract, Opening Up Trade & Cut Possibilities
Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic noted on Friday, October 16 that more than even the lack of production for Johnson, what is jolting and scary for the future is that QBs appear to have lost the entirety of whatever fear factor existed when throwing the CB’s way in years past.
That, plus the precipitous statistical decline, may alter Johnson’s career trajectory dramatically and puts his future with Chicago in a new context.
“This season, Johnson is unlikely to go anywhere — every other team has seen the tape you guys are watching — but it’s worth noting that 2027 is the last year of his contract,” Fishbain wrote. “It’s only Week 6; there is time for improvement from someone who’s made a lot of plays as a Bear.”
Jaylon Johnson May Not Be Long for Chicago if His Game Doesn’t Improve Meaningfully, Soon
Johnson, who is currently playing on a four-year deal worth $76 million, spoke before the season about how 2026 could prove a contract year for him. The implication was that he might push for a new deal this coming offseason ahead of his age-28 campaign in 2027.
But if Johnson’s performance continues on at this rate, he will not have the leverage to negotiate a new deal, or at least not one anywhere close to his presumed liking.
By all accounts, Johnson still views himself as elite and will want the Bears to pay him as such, which probably means an annual raise — or perhaps multiple seasons tacked on beyond 2027 in a reworked deal that guarantees him far more than the $16 million in cash the Bears owe him next year, none of which the team has guaranteed.
However, Chicago might sensibly look to release Johnson and reabsorb that $16 million into its salary cap for 2027, while forking over $9 million in the form of a dead-cap hit. The Bears could do so pre-June 1, which would mean they could re-allocate those funds toward free-agent signings in March when almost all of the meaningful players change teams.
A trade would achieve the same financial outcome and, of course, would be more profitable because Chicago would get some type of draft asset back in return. Though Johnson’s trade value is now arguably at its lowest point since his seven-year professional football career began.
Bears CB Jaylon Johnson’s Future Uncertain Amid Alarming Trend