Jaylon Johnson has made one postseason appearance with the Chicago Bears since he was drafted in 2020. That playoff game ended in a 21-9 loss to the New Orleans Saints in the wild card to complete his rookie season.
Since then, the Bears have won 21 games in the last four seasons and fired head coaches Matt Nagy, Matt Eberflus, and interim coach Thomas Brown.
Johnson was skeptical last offseason about the hype surrounding Caleb Williams and the Bears’ prospects to make the playoffs after winning 10 games in two seasons under Eberflus (when the team had Justin Fields under center).
Johnson was proved correct in his skepticism, and the All-Pro cornerback’s outburst following Chicago’s 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving was another straw that eventually broke the camel’s back, leading to Eberflus’ early dismissal as the Bears head coach the next day.
So excuse Johnson for wanting his new head coach to prove himself this go around.
Jaylon Johnson has been through the hype machine before
NFL: New England Patriots at Chicago BearsChicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson (1) practices before the game against the New England Patriots at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images
Johnson spoke with reporters at Halas Hall on Tuesday as the Bears began Day 2 of the Phase 1 portion of their offseason training program. Johnson said he’s not buying any hype surrounding head coach Ben Johnson and the Bears until the team can win games later in the regular season.
“I’ve been through (this) too many times, man,” Jaylon said. “I’m gonna get excited when we win in November and December, and we change some things and get to the playoffs, that’s when I’ll be excited… The only thing that has anything to do with me is the work that I put in, the work that we put in as a unit, and just taking steps in the right direction.
“Other than that, the talk, the hype, and all that. I mean, hype don’t win you no games. I’ve been here a minute. I’ve been through the hype, and we don’t win no games. So for me, if it’s not about winning, quite honestly, I don’t really care about it.”
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson hasn’t proven himself yet
NFL: Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson introductory press conferenceJan 22, 2025; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson answers questions during a introductory press conference at PNC Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images
Jaylon was asked if “anything” felt different with Ben and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen in Halas Hall versus the regimes of Nagy and Eberflus. Jaylon said nothing feels different yet.
“We still trying to figure each other out,” Jaylon said. “I just seen the guy in person for the first time yesterday. So nothing feels different for me. At the end of the day, again, I’ll see in camp to start, and that’s when the real ball will show up. And then, really throughout the season, we’ll see.
“Things can start off rocky in the beginning and we figure it out, and things change throughout the back half or middle of the season. Or we start off high, and then we (expletive) the bed. It kind of just depends. For me at the end of the day, to me, it’s about winning. And I feel like if we go out there and we win on Sunday I’ll feel good about everybody.”
Jaylon gave an unusually honest but refreshing answer on how he feels about things heading into OTAs. He’s earned the right to be skeptical. Hopefully, Ben can prove he’s worth $13 million a year and get Jaylon and the Bears to the playoffs.
NFL: London Games Jacksonville Jaguars at Chicago BearsOct 13, 2024; London, United Kingdom; Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson (1) after an NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images
This article first appeared on ChiCitySports and was syndicated with permission.
