The Chicago Bears' defense has been a mixed bag of good and bad this season. Overall, though, Dennis Allen has been as advertised as a defensive mind, navigating multiple key injuries.
Allen also sees the potential for things to solidify and improve moving forward. With the Bears at 6-3 after a 0-2 start, an overall stingier defense will be crucial in staying in the NFC playoff race as the schedule starts to toughen up.
The Bears enter Week 11 26th in the league against the pass (240.3 yards allowed per game), and they are similarly dismal in deeper metrics against opposing passing attacks. The absence of top cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon, who have combined to play three games and 101 defensive snaps so far this season, has left them thin at cornerback.
This week, head coach Ben Johnson offered optimistic updates on Johnson and Gordon. It had been fair to say there was a better chance Gordon would return to action before the season is over, but Johnson's 21-day practice window to come off IR has been opened.
Player tabbed as Bears' top offseason trade chip is (probably) not going anywhere
Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report has named an early top offseason trade chip for each NFL team. Seemingly due to a lack of clearly better options for the Bears, surely in terms of potential return, he went with Johnson.
"We could also go with Gervon Dexter Sr. here, if you prefer a less crucial, less expensive option. Regardless, the Chicago defense has proved deep enough up front and in the secondary that the team could afford to dangle either defensive regular."
While Tyrique Stevenson has largely been better than expected this season, as long as you set aside his Pro Football Focus grades, ideally, the Bears would not have to be relying on Nahshon Wright as their other primary outside cornerback. So the idea that the secondary is "deep enough" to make Johnson an offseason trade candidate is flawed, at best.
The Bears also signed Johnson to a four-year, $76 million contract extension in 2024. There's no fully guaranteed salary left after this year as it sits right now, but $7.6 million becomes guaranteed for 2026 on the third day of the league year.
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We generally "never say never" when it comes to NFL players who could be traded, since things can change quickly, but it would take a dramatic negative turn to push Johnson anywhere close to the trade block. When healthy (as he has been for the most part before this season), he is a core defensive player for the Bears, not someone who is a potential trade chip.