If Jaylon Johnson is unable to get on the practice field, he is less likely to start for the Chicago Bears anytime soon
With less than a month to go until the start of the 2020 NFL season, Jaylon Johnson has yet to take a snap with pads on for the Chicago Bears. Johnson fell to pick 50 due to a question of shoulder issues, and those issues appear to be true.
He is still getting back into the swing of things and has not been able to get a full work out in. The Bears have noted that they do plan to throw Johnson into the fire. However, even with a fast ramp-up, Johnson is very unlikely to play in Week One.
To start, it has not been in the Bears plans to rely on rookies early into the season. Remember last season, even a healthy David Montgomery was splitting work with Mike Davis, who was later cut. It takes rookies time, even with a full offseason.
In another example, Roquan Smith held out through the majority of training camp in his rookie season. However, Smith showed up to camp on August 14 and was practicing a week before Johnson would at the earliest.
Beyond that, Smith is not coming back from an injury. He was physically ready to go the second he hit the field. Johnson will likely take some time after he gets his pads on. Still, despite that Smith did not start in Week One. He did find his way to starting week two, but considering how far ahead he was on Johnson, in terms of time, and physical shape, Johnson may not even be ready for Week two considering where he is.
One last comparison is Kyle Fuller. Fuller had a start to his preseason, but in the second preseason game pulled up with an injury. He sat that game and was back in practice days later. Still, Fuller played 14 games as a rookie, missing the first two games of the season. He was healthy but was considered a backup after missing the last preseason game.
Overall, it takes rookies time to adjust to the NFL. We knew more than ever, this offseason was going to be tougher to get accustomed to everything. Not only is Johnson well behind, but there is also a question as to when he will get back on the field.
The coaches talked about throwing him into the fire, but we have seen first hand that this may not be the case unless Kevin Toliver were to struggle.
At this point in time, thinking that Johnson could jump in cold and start Week One is out of the picture. There is a good case to be made that Johnson will not be ready for Week Two, either. Of course, we will take it day by day and learning how week one goes will shape his status. Still, there has to be a real question as to when Johnson will make his first start for Chicago.