Bear Digest

Bears Will Stick Together Whoever's at QB

Cornerback Jaylon Johnson says the Bears locker room is still behind Justin Fields but prepared to accept whoever the team puts behind center.
Gene Chamberlain|
Bears Will Stick Together Whoever's at QB
Bears Will Stick Together Whoever's at QB

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Chicago Bears

The Bears are moving ahead, progressing as a team and it could be with or without Justin Fields.

The idea they could have open revolt in the locker room if their quarterback is traded seems unlikely when the opinion of Jaylon Johnson on this topic is considered. Johnson was one of the most vocal supporters of Fields on the defensive side of the ball last year and still is backing No. 1, but he thinks there will be no locker room problems either way.

"I feel like, at the end of the day, we know the business that we're in," Johnson said. "So, I feel like it wouldn't be mature of us as a locker room not to rally together in spite of having Justin leave."

Not that they wouldn't enjoy having Fields back.

"I know what it would do to keep him here," Johnson said. "I know how we would feel with him here, but I feel like at the end of the day, we'll all have our opinions, our emotions, but as far as the locker room staying together, I think we have the right guys in the locker room to keep everything together, to keep us together. And I mean at the end of the day, we're all here to win ballgames"

The idea under consideration, of course, is draft Caleb Williams and playing him.

"So whoever Poles brings in, whoever the staff brings in to help us win games, that's who we're going to rock with," Johnson admitted.

None of this is to say Johnson knows what Ryan Poles has in mind. He was making an appearance Monday at a press conference after signing his new $76 million contract.

"I barely got here in the offseason, so I can't say what their goals are," he said.

What Johnson does like so far is the look on defense after the addition of Kevin Byard at safety after the team cut veteran safety Eddie Jackson.

"I think he's a dog," Johnson said. "He's been playing the game at a high level for a long time, so I'm definitely glad to have him."

Byard has never missed a game due to injury. He's more physical than Jackson has been in his career and twice was All-Pro.

"I know we've got dogs at all levels," Johnson said. "So I think just being in on him and with the departure of Eddie, I think kind of put the glue back together in the secondary that we needed.

"Linebackers, I feel like, are stacked between T.J. (Edwards), Tremaine (Edmunds), Jack (Sanborn). We've got some depth at backer. I know we've got some dogs up front. So just continue to build depth, I assume, but I can't say they told me their plans."

As of late Monday afternoon on the first day of free agent negotiations, there's no need to worry about Fields leaving because he hasn't.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMavens

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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.

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