The Chicago Bears won’t have All-Pro cornerback Jaylon Johnson on the field for the rest of Sunday’s road game against the Detroit Lions in Week 2.
Johnson crumpled to the turf after breaking up a pass intended for Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown on a 3rd-and-10 play early in the second quarter. After the team’s medical staff briefly attended to him on the field, Johnson headed into the locker room.
The Bears initially ruled Johnson as questionable to return to the game with a groin injury, presumably a re-aggravation of the same groin injury that held him out for all of training camp and kept him inactive for Week 1’s loss against the Minnesota Vikings.
Heading into the second half, though, the Bears issued an update on Johnson’s injury status and ruled the 26-year-old cornerback out for the remainder of Sunday’s game.
The Bears inserted backup cornerback Nahshon Wright — who had a 74-yard pick-six in the loss to the Vikings last week — into Johnson’s place on the perimeter.
Chicago had already entered the game down one of their starting cornerbacks, having ruled out starting slot cornerback Kyler Gordon with a hamstring injury on their injury report on Friday. Gordon’s hamstring kept him out of last week’s game and the entire week of practice, forcing the Bears to start veteran Nick McCloud at the nickel instead.
The Bears ultimately lost 52-21 against the Lions, dropping to 0-2 on the season.
T.J. Edwards Also Ruled Doubtful to Return for Bears
Johnson isn’t the only veteran starter that the Bears defense lost against the Lions.
Veteran linebacker T.J. Edwards also exited the game during the Lions‘ first drive of the second half, pulling up lame while trying to catch wide receiver Jameson Williams on his 64-yard reception. He appeared to clutch at his hamstring, which indicates that he also reaggravated an injury that hampered him in camp and held him out last week.
The Bears ruled Edwards as doubtful to return with his hamstring injury, but he stayed on the sideline for the remainder of the game. Noah Sewell, a 2023 fifth-round pick, took over for him in the lineup alongside veteran starter Tremaine Edmunds.
Bears Defense Collapsed Against Lions in 52-21 Loss
Even before losing two key defenders to injuries, the Bears defense struggled to contain a Lions offense that had little trouble running up the score in front of its home crowd.
The Lions brutalized the Bears defense all throughout Sunday’s game, scoring at least 10 points in every quarter and finishing with 511 total yards of offense in the blowout. Two Lions pass-catchers finished with more than 100 receiving yards, with St. Brown leading the way with nine receptions for 115 yards and a career-high three touchdowns.
The Bears also had trouble holding the Lions‘ running game in check. Running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery averaged roughly 6.5 yards on 23 combined carries against the Bears defense, each finding the end zone once in the victory.
The Bears will play again next Sunday when they host the Dallas Cowboys for a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff at Soldier Field.
Bears Update Status of Jaylon Johnson After Rough Injury vs. Lions