The Chicago Bears have the Minnesota Vikings rolling into town for a battle on Monday Night Football.
They've hit the practice field this week, and they finally got some good news in regard to cornerback Jaylon Johnson. Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Johnson practiced on Wednesday for the first time all preseason.
Jaylon Johnson Practiced With Bears on Wednesday
This is a big step in the right direction for Johnson, who has been sidelined all summer long. He has been rehabbing a groin injury that he suffered while training ahead of camp. On Tuesday, Johnson expressed that he hoped to be cleared for practice, and that happened with Wednesday's session.
Although he still has work to do, getting out there on the field is huge, as he seeks to get some valuable practice reps in. His conditioning will need work since he's been on the sideline for weeks but this was the first step.
Being able to use a few days to ramp up is massive and could pay dividends for the Bears. The Vikings and Justin Jefferson are stepping into Soldier Field, so having your best corner out there is needed.
The remaining practices this week will paint a clear picture of whether Johnson will be on the field, yet his chances of playing are higher today than they were yesterday. Seeing how his body reacts to being on the field will ultimately be the test.
Having a groin injury is always tough, and the fact that it held him out all of camp shows how serious it was. Nonetheless, the Bears are a better unit with him on the field. In 2024, he played in all 17 games for the first time in his career. In those matchups, he had 53 total tackles, eight pass breakups, and two picks.
According to PFF, he had a 76.2 overall grade (20th among 222 graded cornerbacks), 79.9 run-defense grade (18th among 222 graded cornerbacks), and a 74.2 coverage grade (29th among 222 graded cornerbacks).
He's Chicago's CB1, and the Bears want to have him at their disposal to throw at Justin Jefferson. Whether or not Johnson is 100% healthy remains to be seen, but it'll be great to see No. 1 on the field in this primetime battle.