Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) is tackled by Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson ... [+]
Give Jaylon Johnson credit for not letting a bad situation drag him down.
The 24-year-old Bears cornerback is excelling as a shut-down corner in a defense that enters Week 4 of the season allowing 35 points a game. Opposing quarterbacks have been picking apart rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, journeyman cornerback Greg Stroman Jr. and safety Jaquan Brisker but Johnson is off to a strong start.
Pro Football Focus gives Johnson an overall grade of 80.1, which ranks him eighth among 101 qualifying cornerbacks. His PFF
This could be a breakout season for Johnson, who seemed to regress in 2022 after flashing promise in his second season out of the University of Utah. He carried a PFF grade of 64.2 in 2021, finishing 50th among 116 cornerbacks, but slipped to 67th last season.
His strong start this year comes with him on the eve of free agency. Johnson sought a contract extension in the off-season but couldn’t come to terms with General Manager Ryan Poles.
"Whatever the timing is, whether it's now, whether it's in two weeks, two months, six months, whatever is for me will come and I'm confident with that," Johnson said during training camp. “I'm just, I'm not worried about it. I'm going out and playing my game … the contract will come when it comes. If it don't, it don't but if it does, then it does.”
Johnson is gaining leverage as an essential piece in the ongoing defensive rebuild.
The Bears traded up to get Stevenson in the second round of last year’s draft. He may yet develop into a play-making corner that makes Johnson at least somewhat expendable but Jordan Love, Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes have attacked him. PFF ranks Stevenson in the bottom tier of qualifiers (81st).
Johnson signed a $6.5 million rookie deal after being selected in the second round of the 2020 draft. He’s earning a combined $3.6 million in salaries and pro-rated signing bonus this year, and should at least double that salary going forward, whether with the Bears or someone else.
The website Spotrac compares Johnson’s performance to that of Charvarious Ward, Taron Johnson, Emmanuel Moseley and Jourdan Lewis. Those players signed multi-year deals in their ages 24-26 years, and those precedents suggest a three-year, $23.3 million deal for Johnson.
But Johnson would likely see that as a low-ball offer, as it would barely move him into the top 30 of cornerback salaries. The Bears rewarded tight end Cole Kmet with a four-year, $50 million contract extension in July (with about $30 million guaranteed), and cornerbacks are generally considered more valuable than tight ends.
Do the Bears trust Johnson enough to give him a big deal? That may be the key question here.
They have bigger issues than hanging onto one cornerback. But signing Johnson to an extension would seem to represent a positive long-term development. It appears they have enough holes to fill without allowing a good, young cornerback to leave, creating another one.