Just hours before kickoff to the Chicago Bears-Minnesota Vikings Monday night showdown, the Bears make some last second decisions that bodes well for the secondary.
The Bears announce that they have elevated linebacker Carl Jones Jr. and defensive lineman Tanoh Kpassagnon from the practice squad. There had been speculation as to whether cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon would be ready to play as they deal with injuries.
The Bears elevated linebacker Carl Jones Jr. and defensive lineman Tanoh Kpassagnon from the practice squad.
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) September 8, 2025
No DB elevations, so could mean good news for Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon, who are both questionable.
Johnson has been on the injury report all week and was listed as questionable for the game with a calf/groin injury. Gordon was just thrown on the report on Sunday with a hamstring injury and also listed as questionable. One other cornerback, Josh Blackwell, is also on the injury report, questionable with a groin injury.
Good news for Bears entering pivotal Monday night showdown
The Bears already have a nightmare matchup of trying to cover great Vikings playmakers like Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson, and Adam Thielen. They need everyone who can play in the game to slow down one of the NFL's top passing attacks from 2024.
Johnson has not practiced all of training camp, but has recently been back working out. There seemed to always be little doubt that he would miss the game, as he has been pushing to play all week.
Gordon missed most of the second half of training camp with an injury as well, but did come back. It was odd to see him as a last-second addition to the report, but it could be good news for him to be playing.
Blackwell is the only one that is up in the air with many believing that he could be the odd man out of the game. He would be a tough loss for Chicago's secondary, as he is one of their top players on special teams and serves as a backup punt returner to Devin Duvernay.
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The Bears are already dealing with starting linebacker T.J. Edwards not playing in the game, so it's a relief to know that they will most likely have two of their top three corners in the Vikings match.