Chicago Bears Rumors: 3 rumored destinations for Jaylon Johnson

The Chicago Bears granted cornerback Jaylon Johnson permission to seek a trade after contract extension negotiations broke down.

This is the second consecutive trade deadline where the Bears have had a young defensive star on the trade market.

Last year it was Roquan Smith who was shipped off to the Baltimore Ravens exactly one year to the day.

Now it is Johnson after he expressed interest in wanting to stay long-term. The economics of his contract was always going to be tricky. He is one of the best cover corners in the game, but he lacks the takeaways.

Something must have happened to have Jaylon going from wanting to stay in Chicago for as long as he can to wanting out of town.

One of the bad raps on general manager Ryan Poles is he is not very loyal to players he did not draft or sign.

Not extending Jaylon sends a bad message to the locker room that is now filled with players mostly drafted or signed by Poles. The message being sent is if you work your butt off and get better but asked for a raise, you will be sent out of town.

To be fair, maybe Johnson is asking for money that is unrealistic. Plus, this could be just a negotiation tactic on Poles’ side to let Jaylon know what his market is.

Either way, Johnson is possibly on his way out. The possible return being speculated is at least a third-round selection.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, who broke the story, is reporting three teams are rumored to be in the running for Jaylon Johnson.

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers’ interest in Johnson popped up recently. San Francisco has finally gotten out from under all the picks they sent to the Miami Dolphins for the right to draft Trey Lance.

They have plenty of draft picks to work with to make a deal work. Their third-round choice is projected to be the No. 87 pick. They also have three fourth-round picks.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Chicago Bears love doing business with the Eagles. It is because of assistant general manager Ian Cunningham’s ties to the franchise.

The Bears traded Robert Quinn to the Eagles before last season’s trade deadline. They swapped first-round spots in the draft and picked up a fourth-round picks in the process. The Eagles took Jalen Carter, and a lot of Chicago Bears fans were not happy with that deal.

Philadelphia has eight draft picks in next year’s draft to work with. The Eagles do not have a third-round pick, but they do have a second-round selection projected to be the No. 64 pick to use to outbid the competition.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers fleeced Poles at last season’s deadline when they acquired the Bears’ second-round picks for wide receiver Chase Claypool. That pick turned out to be the No. 32 in the draft. Claypool quickly wore out his welcome as was shipped off to Miami earlier this season.

The Steelers have seven picks in next year’s draft. Their third-round pick is currently projected to be No. 85.