Bear Digest

Jaylon Johnson leaning toward being safe as possible with recovery

IR and surgery loom as possibilities for Bears Pro Bowl cornerback but he wasn't ready to rule out a return this season just yet during an interview on WSCR AM-670.
Gene Chamberlain|
Jaylon Johnson addresses reporters when he made a comeback from an initial groin injury, and now he has another one.
Jaylon Johnson addresses reporters when he made a comeback from an initial groin injury, and now he has another one. | Chicago Bears On SI Photo: Gene Chamberlain

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Although the new groin injury Jaylon Johnson suffered has been characterized as season-ending in some reports, the Bears cornerback wouldn't necessarily paint this as a certainty when he discussed it.

Making his regular Monday appearance on WSCR's Spiegel & Holmes Show, Johnson described his injury as a new one to another area of his groin besides the groin injury he suffered prior to training camp, and said he hasn't yet decided on a recovery path.

However, the lean seems toward a longer recovery.

"They're kind of just trying to figure out where I'm going to go from there," Johnson told WSCR. "Time line, I'm trying to figure it out myself."

Whether it requires surgery hasn't been decided. Johnson left open the possibility of returning after a stint on injured reserve but the bottom line to everything seems to indicate the season-ending path is more likely.

"I would definitely say trying to figure out what's the best move long-term," Johnson said.

He doesn't want to come back and injure it again, if it's not completely stable and strong.

On a podcast last week, Johnson had described what seemed like a gruesome original injury in mid-July before training camp.

"I know when I first tore my adductor off of my pelvic bone, on it, that itself sounds worse than what it really is," Johnson said. "So I think it's just everything as a whole in that whole region just needs to get also repaired.

"They're trying to figure out where I need to go from there."

It sounds like a lengthy process. He needed the seven to eight weeks rehabbing until last week before he felt good enough to return from the first injury.

"Of course it was painful and you've got to rehab it or whatever and get it back," he said. "But for me now I feel like with that being the case I feel like the other side of that, the top part of it, was compromised and now that's kind of what is affected now."

Johnson stressed he did not feel as if he'd been rushed into starting in Week 2 by the team.

"I would not say there was any rushing involved," he said. "I would say there was a sense of urgency to get back but definitely no rushing or doing anything reckless. I would just say I felt comfortable playing."

Johnson added: "I felt strong. I felt really good during practice. Of course there was some soreness and things like that but that comes with increasing the (work) volume."

The Bears could rely on Johnson being around Halas Hall regardless of whether he goes on IR because they could use extra input for whoever they have as a replacement.

Right now it's Nahshon Wright in that spot, but there's no telling who they might consider adding if they label Johnson out for the year.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.