Johnson was positioned on the non-football damage listing when veterans reported to Chicago for camp. He suffered the damage throughout offseason coaching, based on Bears common supervisor Ryan Poles.
Johnson is coming off his second consecutive Professional Bowl and is headed into the second 12 months of a four-year, $76 million deal. He has handled quite a few accidents over his profession, taking part in not more than 15 video games in a season over the primary 4 years of his profession. In 2024, he performed a full season for the primary time, beginning all 17 video games with a career-high 1,032 snaps.
An prolonged absence into the common season would drive Chicago to search out one other beginning cornerback amongst their veteran depth, however Poles stated that the workforce just isn’t “overly involved” a couple of long-term damage.
“We’ve bought lots of religion that he’s going to place within the time to rehab and be his full self when he comes again,” stated Poles on Tuesday.
2023 fifth-rounder Terell Smith will doubtless step right into a first-team function in Johnson’s absence. Chicago largely relied on a cornerback trio of Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson and Kyler Gordon final 12 months; Smith is the one remaining defensive again on the roster who performed at the least 150 snaps on the boundary for the Bears in 2024, based on Pro Football Focus.
Offseason signings Nick McCloud and Tre Flowers might also see a bump in reps over the approaching weeks as Johnson rehabs his leg together with his eyes on returning for the Bears’ Week 1 opener towards the Vikings.
