When NFL training camps open, it's routine for teams to play multiple players on the various lists that will keep them off the practice field to start things out (PUP, NFI, etc.). A solid chunk of those players are also expected to land on those lists, as they work their way back from injuries last season.
As the Chicago Bears got set to open training camp, they placed star cornerback Jaylon Johnson on the NFI (Non-Football Injury) list. "Non-Football Injury" is broadly classified as any injury suffered away from the team facility, and general manager Ryan Poles said Johnson is expected to miss several weeks of training camp after injuring his leg while training this offseason.
Poles said the team is not "overly concerned" about Johnson, and "we've got a lot of faith that he's going to put in the time to rehab and be his full self when he comes back."
On Thursday morning, head coach Ben Johnson said Johnson is rehabbing at Halas Hall.
Jaylon Johnson is rehabbing his leg at Halas Hall, says Ben Johnson. We didn't see him at practice yesterday.
— Patrick Finley (@patrickfinley) July 24, 2025
The Bears signed veteran cornerback Tre Flowers the day before training camp started, but it's hard to see him as much more than a training camp body to cover Johnson's absence. On the chance, however slim it's being professed to be right now, the back-to-back Pro Bowler misses time to start the season, adding a legitimate starting-caliber cornerback could be somewhere on the radar.
The #Bears are adding a pair of veterans prior to camp, signing DL Tanoh Kpassagnon, formerly of the #Chiefs and #Saints, and DB Tre Flowers, GM Ryan Poles announced.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 22, 2025
Veteran cornerback offered as legit Jaylon Johnson insurance for the Bears
Of course is someone was obviously starter-caliber with no question marks, they wouldn't be available as training camps get rolling around the league. But in light of the Bears' surprise situation with Johnson, Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report has proposed them as a top landing spot for veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas.
"Cornerback Rasul Douglas didn't have a great season with the Bills in 2024—he allowed an opposing passer rating of 122.0 in coverage—but he did start 15 games and has been a legitimate difference-maker in the past."
"Douglas allowed an opposing passer rating of just 38.6 in nine games in 2023, and he recorded 14 interceptions between 2021 and 2023 with the Bills and Green Bay Packers."
The Miami Dolphins have been tied to Douglas for a couple months, and Knox noted a fresh report this week from Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald saying the two sides "remain in active discussion." As Knox noted, in parallel to mentioning the Bears, it might "behoove" the Dolphins to close the deal with Douglas "sooner rather than later."
By all measures (No. 102 out of 116 qualified cornerbacks by overall PFF grade), Douglas had a rough 2024 season with the Buffalo Bills as his previous ball-hawking skills went away (zero interceptions, five pass breakups). Over the previous three seasons, with the Green Bay Packers and the Bills, he totaled 14 interceptions with 40 pass breakups.
Douglas will turn 30 in late August, so while he's getting a little older, a full-on decline may not be here just yet. But it's a "what have you done for me lately" league, and Douglas was bad enough last season to all but erase his previous three seasons from memory.
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The Bears' public lack of concern about Johnson has been backed up by a lack of a notable move to add a cornerback. If Douglas or someone of similar ilk is signed at some point, that will be a clear-cut sign of heightened concern about the availability of the team's best player in the secondary for Week 1.