A tough first few weeks of the 2025 season for the Chicago Bears got rougher on Monday, their day off, with news that cornerback Jaylon Johnson is expected to miss multiple games, if not the rest of the season, with a groin injury.
Johnson missed the offseason program, training camp, the preseason, and the Bears’ regular-season opener with groin and calf issues.
However, the most concerning part may be that this is a new injury.
Bears Potentially Lose Jaylon Johnson for Remainder of 2025 Season
Jaylon Johnson Picked Up New Groin Injury in Bears’ Loss
ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Courtney Cronin reported on Monday that Johnson was dealing with the issue and would be “out indefinitely.” Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz followed up soon after, reporting that Johnson was “likely to miss the rest of the season.”
Bears head coach Ben Johnson spoke with reporters virtually on Monday, and he revealed that Johnson’s injury was indeed different from the ones that cost him time during the offseason.
Jaylon Johnson expressed little optimism during an appearance on 670 The Score.
“Jaylon Johnson is as good as it gets when it comes to cover corners in the NFL. The #Bears regularly have him shadow the opponent’s top wide receiver,” Schultz said in a separate post after the news broke.
“His loss is a massive blow to Dennis Allen’s defense, and it comes during what has already been a rough start to the year.”
Entering “Monday Night Football”, the Bears had allowed the NFL’s ninth-most passing yards.
Fortunately for the Bears, they have played without Johnson this season, with Nahshon Wright filling in for Johnson’s stead. Unfortunately for the Bears, Johnson is hardly their only injury concern just three weeks into the season.
Bears Uncertain on Kyler Gordon, T.J. Edwards
Johnson had just returned for the Bears on Sunday against the Detroit Lions, joining fellow veteran and starting linebacker T.J. Edwards. Both players exited the game early with what Ben Johnson initially said were aggravations of previous injuries.
Edwards’ issue appears to indeed be the same hamstring injury that cost him the opener. But Ben Johnson could only offer that Edwards and nickelback Kyler Gordon were “week-to-week.”
Gordon is also dealing with a hamstring injury. Both players signed extensions this offseason.
Johnson spoke about seeking a new deal amid an explosion in contract values at his position, but all of the injuries and a looming salary cap crunch cloud the Bears’ roster outlook as soon as next season.
Both starting safeties, Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker, the latter of whom missed 12 games with a concussion last season, are also in the final year of their deals.
Matt Eberflus Returning to Soldier Field With Reinforcements
The Bears will see Johnson’s predecessor, Matt Eberflus, in Week 3 at home. Eberflus is the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, who have allowed the third-most yards as a defense entering “Monday Night Football.”
However, Eberflus will have a bolstered roster.
The Cowboys signed former Houston Texans star and three-time Pro Bowler Jadeveon Clowney, the No. 1 overall pick in 2014, to boost their pass rush.
For a team like the Bears that has had trouble generating offense as the game goes on amid issues along the offensive line with penalties before and after the snap, a presence like Clowney used to be could be a significant concern.
The question is whether or not he has anything left in the tank
Eberflus will also have former Bears starting strongside linebacker Jack Sanborn, who signed with the Cowboys in free agency. Moreover, the Cowboys drafted Wright in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, but traded him to the Minnesota Vikings, who beat the Bears in Week 1, last season.