There's a pair of relationships Ben Johnson hopes to grow within Bears in 2026

Among all the great things that happened in 2025 with the Chicago Bears, one of the tough parts for most of the season was dealing with key injuries in the secondary.

Guys like cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon missed a ton of time during the season and never really played like the type of players Bears fans have been accustomed to seeing. That led to some missed opportunities from Bears head coach Ben Johnson to work as closely with them as he would have liked.

Ben Johnson spoke with reporters at the NFL owners meeting, where he admitted that it was "challenging to build relationships with Jaylon Johnson and Gordon. Going into the new league year, Ben Johnson has a different mindset, with Jaylon Johnson and Gordon saying, "We're starting over completely this spring."

Ben Johnson working on relationships with Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon

Jaylon Johnson played seven games during the season, recording 17 tackles and two pass deflections. Things were a bit more difficult with Gordon, though, as he only appeared in three games, with seven tackles, one tackle for loss, one quarterback hit, one sack, and a fumble recovery.

Towards the end of the season, Ben Johnson expressed his frustration with Gordon that the team was unable to figure out how to get him to 100% with his lingering lower-body injury. While Jaylon Johnson played more, half the time he was on pitch counts and never really reached the level he had in 2023 and 2024 when he made the Pro Bowl.

Entering the new season, the hope is that Jaylon Johnson will be able to play at the level that is needed again as the CB1, with the team seemingly going to roll with Tyrique Stevenson at CB2. Gordon's situation is interesting as he will either play nickel corner or could see himself being moved to safety with the newly signed Coby Bryant.

Ben Johnson will work to get those relationships rocking and rolling while ensuring the defense improves its performance in 2026.