This is the decision that has been brewing for weeks. With all eyes on Caleb Williams, Ben Johnson and the new-look Chicago Bears offense, it's the defense that got some brutal news before Week 1 kickoff on Monday Night Football.
Starting cornerback Jaylon Johnson will not play in Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings and has been declared out.
Johnson had been rehabbing groin and calf injuries for weeks now and did not practice at all throughout training camp. At one point, it seemed like he could be on track to play. But, his fate was just confirmed. Bears fans will have to wait another week to see their lockdown corner take the field.
Bears brass didn't do Jaylon Johnson any favors prior to final injury report in Week 1
In somewhat-related news, the topic of the day has been that of Soldier Field and its conditions. This is nothing new, but once videos and photos started surfacing of the stadium's field conditions, the conversation went viral in a hurry.
Let's say Johnson was about 85-90 percent healthy going into this game and the Bears were playing in a dome. I would venture to guess that Johnson would be out there and playing against the Vikings in Minneapolis.
However, because of this organization's lack of care for the conditions of maybe the worst field in all of football, there is no chance the Bears want Johnson risking further injury this early in the season.
With such horrific field conditions, the risk is already high for somebody getting hurt. Johnson's status and current rehab of multiple lower body injuries is nothing to mess around with, but it certainly brings ownership in to focus once again.
It seems the Bears cannot escape the negative narratives, no matter how much positive momentum or hype they are able to generate throughout the offseason. It is no surprise to hear of the stadium's poor conditions in conjunction with Johnson being dubbed out for the season opener.
Hopefully, the active players on both sides are able to avoid any serious injury on that sorry excuse for a field and Johnson is able to fully recover for Week 2 in Detroit.