Bears star Jaylon Johnson shuts down negative chatter about his contract

The Chicago Bears went through all of training camp and the preseason without one of their best players, Jaylon Johnson, taking the field. The veteran corner was sidelined with a groin injury, and was working hard to get healthy for Week 1 — a status that’s still up in the air. He spoke with the media on Tuesday to discuss his injury, as well as some narratives that arose while he was sidelined.

One of the narratives was that Johnson was sitting out of camp because of his desire for a new contract. The veteran corner shut that theory down on Tuesday, emphasizing that’s not how he operates. Johnson said he’s not the type to hold out, but he understands how the timing and optics of things created a good media narrative.

Ultimately, the corner really had a groin injury that kept him out of camp.

Jaylon Johnson makes it clear his absence from Bears camp was because of injury, not contract desires

It may seem a bit confusing that Johnson has contract desires because he just signed a four-year extension last offseason worth $76 million. However, Johnson’s $19 million per year only has him as the 14th-highest paid corner. The two-time Pro Bowler has been honest about seeing the rapidly expanding corner market and wanting to rework his contract.

Speaking with Seth Rollins on The Rich Eisen Show back in July, Johnson admitted, “Just seeing a lot of the other corners getting paid, I almost feel like we might have another discussion coming up here soon.” He knows he has to keep up his end of things by being available and playing well, and if he does that, he wants to return to the negotiating table quicker than expected.

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With his current deal, he isn’t set to be a free agent until 2028. With that being the case, the Bears could easily ignore his desires. However, if he outplays his deal, Chicago could also decide to give him a raise.