Jaylon Johnson has made one postseason appearance with the Chicago Bears since he was drafted in 2020. That playoff game ended in a 21-9 loss to the New Orleans Saints in the wild card to complete his rookie season.
Since then, the Bears have won 21 games in the last four seasons and fired head coaches Matt Nagy, Matt Eberflus, and interim coach Thomas Brown.
Johnson was skeptical last offseason about the hype surrounding Caleb Williams and the Bears’ prospects to make the playoffs after winning 10 games in two seasons under Eberflus (when the team had Justin Fields under center).
Johnson was proved correct in his skepticism, and the All-Pro cornerback’s outburst following Chicago’s 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving was another straw that eventually broke the camel’s back, leading to Eberflus’ early dismissal as the Bears head coach the next day.
So excuse Johnson for wanting his new head coach to prove himself this go around.
Jaylon Johnson has been through the hype machine before
Johnson spoke with reporters at Halas Hall on Tuesday as the Bears began Day 2 of the Phase 1 portion of their offseason training program. Johnson said he’s not buying any hype surrounding head coach Ben Johnson and the Bears until the team can win games later in the regular season.
“I’ve been through (this) too many times, man,” Jaylon said. “I’m gonna get excited when we win in November and December, and we change some things and get to the playoffs, that’s when I’ll be excited… The only thing that has anything to do with me is the work that I put in, the work that we put in as a unit, and just taking steps in the right direction.
“Other than that, the talk, the hype, and all that. I mean, hype don’t win you no games. I’ve been here a minute. I’ve been through the hype, and we don’t win no games. So for me, if it’s not about winning, quite honestly, I don’t really care about it.”
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson hasn’t proven himself yet
Jaylon was asked if “anything” felt different with Ben and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen in Halas Hall versus the regimes of Nagy and Eberflus. Jaylon said nothing feels different yet.
“We still trying to figure each other out,” Jaylon said. “I just seen the guy in person for the first time yesterday. So nothing feels different for me. At the end of the day, again, I’ll see in camp to start, and that’s when the real ball will show up. And then, really throughout the season, we’ll see.
“Things can start off rocky in the beginning and we figure it out, and things change throughout the back half or middle of the season. Or we start off high, and then we (expletive) the bed. It kind of just depends. For me at the end of the day, to me, it’s about winning. And I feel like if we go out there and we win on Sunday I’ll feel good about everybody.”
Jaylon gave an unusually honest but refreshing answer on how he feels about things heading into OTAs. He’s earned the right to be skeptical. Hopefully, Ben can prove he’s worth $13 million a year and get Jaylon and the Bears to the playoffs.
For More Chicago Sports:
Follow me on Twitter at @JordanSig, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Jordan Sigler via email at jordanmsigler@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks.
Chicago Bears sign defender Vikings traded for in 2024
Read MoreFor More Great Chicago Sports Content
Get the latest Chicago sports news, analysis, and breaking stories on the Bears, Bulls, Blackhawks, Cubs, White Sox, Sky, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, so you never miss a story on your favorite Chicago teams.
Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE
