The Chicago Bears are among several teams whose 2023 seasons are already over. As a result, they're a candidate for a firesale at the trade deadline.
Naturally, whenever a team is on the firesale watchlist, the first question to ask is which players could become available (who also appeal to contenders).
Cornerback Jaylon Johnson is at the top of that list for this Bears team. He's in the final year of his rookie contract, and GM Ryan Poles has yet to express a clear desire to lock Johnson up long-term.
It wouldn't be the first time Poles and the Chicago Bears traded one of their best defensive players. He did it last year when he dealt linebacker Roquan Smith to the Baltimore Ravens. He also sent edge rusher Robert Quinn to the Philadelphia Eagles last season.
Is Johnson the next to get shipped out of town? He knows it's a possibility.
“I’m not oblivious. I’m not blind, and I’m not exempt at the end of the day,” Johnson said during an appearance on 670 the Score’s Parkins & Spiegel Show this week. “When you trade Roquan Smith away, when you trade Robert Quinn away, man, you can trade anybody away. So, I mean, I’m definitely not exempt.”
At some point, Poles has to keep the Bears' best players. I get his desire to rebuild the roster, but a good rebuild requires a good foundation of core players. Johnson can be one of those guys.
The fourth-year cornerback from Utah has been a steady lockdown defender since joining the Bears as a second-round pick in 2020. He doesn't stuff the stat sheet with interceptions -- he only has one for his career. Maybe that's why Poles doesn't value him as much as the fans do; he probably wants to pay for production on the ball. But beggars can't be choosers.
The Chicago Bears have prepared themselves for life without Jaylon Johnson ... sort of. They drafted cornerbacks in the second round of each of the last two NFL drafts (Kyler Gordon in 2022 and Tyrique Stevenson in 2023). Both players have upside, but there's no denying that Johnson has been the most consistent player in coverage over the last several years.
Aside from Jaylon Johnson's quality on-field play, his desire to be a Chicago Bear should factor in Poles' decision. Johnson is all-in. He wants to be here; he's good for the locker room. Keeping him in town seems like an easy choice.
“I know what’s going on. … At the end of the day, the Bears got to do what’s best for them, and I got to do what’s best for me,” Johnson said. “Whatever happens with that happens. I’m not forcing anything. Like I’ve been saying from day one, I want to stay here. This is my first team, my home. I bought a house here, everything. All my plans were to stay in Chicago.”
Johnson has the second-highest Pro Football Focus grade this season on the Bears' defense, including the highest coverage score. Opposing quarterbacks have a passer rating of just 64.6 when targeting him.
I don't care how many interceptions he has. Jaylon Johnson is a quality cornerback. You don't trade guys like that, even in a lost season.
Instead, Poles should re-sign Johnson and send a message inside Halas Hall that good players don't have to worry about getting traded, and they get paid, too.
Retaining Johnson won't be cheap. He plays a premium position, and it's hard to find guys as good as he is, even if he doesn't create turnovers. It's fair to say he's a top-20 cornerback right now, and those guys make at least $10 million in average annual salary (per Spotrac).
I'd be shocked if Jaylon Johnson isn't offended by an offer that puts him near the bottom of that top-20 slotting. He'll probably want a top-15 or higher paycheck, around the $13 million AAV mark.
Poles can't be cheap. The Bears can't be cheap. And they can't trade one of their best players because they're 1-5.
They're 1-5 because they don't have enough players who are as good as Johnson.