Top 26 Chicago Bears for 2026: Jaylon Johnson Facing Make-or-Break Year

Training camps are now in full swing around the NFL, and we're nearing the end of our series ranking the top Chicago Bears for the 2026 season. Coming in at No. 4 is our final defender to make the list, and that's cornerback Jaylon Johnson. Despite the team's overall success last year, 2025 was a disastrous year for Johnson. He missed 10 games due to a soft-tissue injury he sustained in July, and even when on the field it was clear that the two-time Pro Bowler was nowhere near 100%.

Can Johnson bounce back to peak form in 2026? His future with the Bears may depend on it.

Jaylon Johnson and Matthew Golde — Chicago Bears CB Jaylon Johnson defends Green Bay Packers WR Matthew Golden. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Jaylon Johnson was once among the NFL's elite cornerbacks

In 2023, Johnson entered the final year of his rookie contract without an extension. He was even granted permission by general manager Ryan Poles to seek a suitable trade partner at the trade deadline, but nothing materialized. If he wanted to remain a Bear, Johnson was going to need a career year, and that's exactly what he delivered.

Johnson ended the 2023 season with Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors, his first NFL accolades, and his 90.1 PFF grade led all cornerbacks. Poles rewarded him in March, agreeing to a four-year contract with Johnson. In 2024, Johnson earned his second straight Pro Bowl nod, but injuries in 2025 forced an incomplete grade on him.

Bears fans believe that Johnson is still among the NFL's elite, but the 2025 season has put Johnson right back into an awkward contract situation. His contract extension only runs through the 2027 season, and his cap hit that year will be a whopping $25 million, according to Spotrac. That's going to be tough to justify, especially if Ryan Poles gets the green light to sign Caleb Williams to a massive extension in 2027 (not to mention the looming extensions for Darnell Wright and Rome Odunze).

What would a good year for Jaylon Johnson look like?

This is just one man's opinion, but given Chicago's roster construction, where they're at in their rebuild, and the going price for top cornerbacks, Johnson is going to once again need a career year in 2026 if he wants to remain with the team in 2027 and beyond. That means earning his third Pro Bowl appearance and another All-Pro nod, potentially as first-team.

In 2023, the last time he was both a Pro Bowler and All-Pro, Johnson recorded a career-high four interceptions to go along with 10 pass breakups and a forced fumble. As aforementioned, his PFF grade was 90.1, reflecting his ability to completely erase his side of the field. He would have to match or even exceed at least some of these marks to call it a successful bounceback season.

Projecting the best and worst-case scenarios for Jaylon Johnson

If all goes well for Johnson in 2026, he'll prove that his setback in 2025 was purely the result of a tough, nagging injury. He'll play in at least 15 games, pull down multiple interceptions, and finish with a PFF grade that puts him in the Top 5 of cornerbacks. This would give him all the leverage he needs to ask the Bears for another extension, and Poles would likely be all too happy to keep his lockdown cornerback around for another three or four years.

However, there's a realistic possibility that no Bears fan wants to consider, and that's a scenario where Johnson's injury proves to have permanently capped his potential. He plays better in 2026, but at a level far below his 2023 and 2024 seasons. Worse still (for Johnson), rookie cornerback Malik Muhammad breaks out and proves to be a draft gem.

In this scenario, Poles may decide he's better off taking the salary cap relief by trading or outright releasing Johnson. According to Over the Cap, the Bears would save $16 million in cap space for the 2027 season by releasing Johnson. A trade would likely be less than that, but still substantial.

For what it's worth, I think Johnson's regression last year was indeed solely the result of his injury. I expect to see him perform at an elite level once again in 2027, and that he'll earn another extension. But, just like the rest of theam, Johnson must prove it on the field.

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