It's been a turbulent season for Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson and, for a moment, it looked like his tenure with Chicago was going to come to a swift end. Facing free agency this coming offseason, Johnson said back in October that he deserves to be paid and later asked for a trade leading up to this year's deadline after he and the Bears front office couldn't come to terms on an extension. No deal came to fruition, Johnson has remained in Chicago and it sounds like it'd be his preference to ultimately stay in the city that made him a second-round pick in 2020.
"I just couldn't see myself anywhere else," Johnson told reporters on Wednesday about his upcoming free agency status, via The Associated Press. "It's easy to say, oh, you want out of somewhere until you get it and then it's like, 'Ah, this may not be quite what I want.' But I would say for me, I want to stay here and I want to not make that transition now. I feel like we're building something special, too, especially with the guys in the locker room. I don't think it's something I can get anywhere else. I would like to stay and continue to build and make this better, and (expletive), I want to win some games and get to the playoffs and make a push with the Chicago name, too."
The Bears currently sit at 5-9 on the year and, while they are not mathematically out of the playoff race, it'd take a miracle for them to ultimately reach the postseason. That means, Johnson has three weeks to put his final stamp on the 2023 campaign to prove to the front office that he's worth keeping around heading into what is an uncertain future for the likes of head coach Matt Eberflus and quarterback Justin Fields.
For his part, the 24-year-old has enjoyed a stellar season. In 12 games, he's tallied four interceptions and 10 pass breakups. He's allowed receivers to catch just 54.5% of their targets when he's in coverage and opposing quarterbacks have registered just a 49.7 passer rating against him as well.
That type of production will garner Johnson plenty of attention on the open market, but the Bears seem to be the top option.
"I want to stay here," Johnson said. "I definitely want to get something done (here) first. But at the end of the day, if something doesn't get done, then I'm not opposed to any other options. But I would love to stay here. So that's that."
According to Spotrac, Johnson could be looking at a projected contract that pays him an average annual salary of $17.1 million. In 2024, the Bears are currently projected to have roughly $63 million in available cap space, which is seventh-highest in the NFL.
