Jaylon Johnson confident Bears will stay together regardless of Justin Fields outcome
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Two weeks ago at the NFL scouting combine, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles stressed the importance of having the right “infrastructure” in place to guide the development of a young quarterback.
Poles said he believes the Bears have made progress in creating an environment for success should the team use the No. 1 overall pick on USC quarterback Caleb Williams in next month’s draft.
Much of that belief is rooted in the culture established two years into their rebuild. And even the most vocal supporters of incumbent quarterback Justin Fields, such as cornerback Jaylon Johnson, are prepared to handle changes at the position.
“We know the business that we’re in,” Johnson said Monday. “So I feel like it wouldn’t be mature of us as a locker room not to rally together in spite of having Justin leave.
“I know how we would feel with him here, but we’ll all have our opinions, our emotions, but as far as the locker room staying together, I think we have the right guys in the locker room to keep everything together, to keep us together.”
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Fields has been the subject of trade speculation since it became apparent the Bears would land the No. 1 draft pick by virtue of their trade last year with the Carolina Panthers. The speculation gained urgency at the combine on Feb. 27 when Poles said he wanted a resolution about his QB position quickly to “do right” by Fields and not leave him in a state of limbo.
As the Bears shifted their focus to building out their roster when the window to negotiate with other teams’ free agents opened at noon ET Monday, Johnson officially signed his four-year, $76 million contract at Halas Hall. The 24-year-old cornerback said he knew prior to receiving the franchise tag last week that he and the Bears were close to working out a long-term deal after a year of negotiations.
“I tell people all the time when they ask, ‘How does it feel?'” Johnson said. “To me, I’ve had it. Just been waiting to collect it.”
After failing to come to an agreement on a new deal at the deadline in October, Johnson requested a trade. Poles said he would trade the cornerback only if the Bears got back a late first-rounder or second-round pick in return.
That impasse turned out to be short-lived as negotiations picked up last month following Johnson’s career-best season as he finished tied for the team lead with four interceptions (including a pick-six), 10 passes defended, one forced fumble and 36 tackles.
Johnson said his next challenge is doubling his production from a season ago.
“Just doing it again,” the cornerback said. “I feel like people think it’s luck doing it one time, so I guess the challenge for me is to do it again, to do it better. I feel like I should have had six, seven interceptions realistically, so for me, it’s kind of just not missing opportunities.”
Johnson’s contract includes $44.3 million fully guaranteed, which ranks No. 2 behind Cleveland’s Denzel Ward among cornerbacks. That figure holds significance for Johnson, who will get a chance to hit free agency again before he turns 30.
“I get the guaranteed money and I get another bite at the apple and I get to do it again,” Johnson said. “I think for me that’s the biggest thing. Just to make as much money as fast as I can and then get back to the apple and do it again and then hopefully do it again.”