The Bears have been working without cornerback Jaylon Johnson at OTAs this offseason, but that’s set to change.
Johnson said on ESPN Radio Thursday that he plans to join the team for next week’s workouts. He said he’s had “a lot of things off the field going on” that have kept him from joining the team so far this spring.
Johnson is heading into his fourth season and said earlier in the offseason that he hoped contract extension talks would pick up, but said on Thursday that he’s not focused on his contract at this point.
“Honestly, for me, it used to be a lot of pressure,” Johnson said. “I would even say for me going into my third year, I felt like that was the year for me to put myself out there to be able to have a new contract, to be able to re-up. For me, it’s just about going out and being who I am. I know I can be a dominant corner. I am a dominant corner in this league, following No. 1 wide receivers and just finding ways to continue to do my job at a high rate, continue to be a better teammate, continue to find ways to win. . . . With winning comes paychecks, and I think at the end of the day, I need to focus on winning. That’s what I’m worried about going into Year Four.”
Johnson was a 2020 second-round pick and he has 125 tackles, an interception, 31 passes defensed, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery in 39 career games.