NEWSLETTER
Our love-hate relationship with the injury report is back. As is our obsessive watch over who’s making their way on (or off) the list.
One player whose status we’ll be looking for when the Chicago Bears’ first injury report of Week 4 drops later this afternoon is cornerback Jaylon Johnson. Last week, a quad injury limited Johnson’s practice reps during Thursday’s practice. A day later, Johnson was held out altogether. And even though he was listed as “questionable” to play, Johnson was among the inactive for the Bears’ Week 3 win against the Houston Texans.
So … will Johnson return to the practice field as preparations for Week 4 begin? Well, it depends on how you want to read into his comments with 670 The Score’s Parkins and Spiegel Show:
Johnson comes off as the sort of player who wants to play through it. And he has persevered through injury issues in college and early in his pro career. That guy is a grinder and has totally brought into Head Coach Matt Eberflus’ H.I.T.S. principle. So, of course he is hungry and ready to play. But on the other hand, Johnson cautioning that he doesn’t want to rush through the injury and worsen it. And that is a mature stance to take. All in all, it is tough for me to feel strongly either way. I want to see Johnson play. But a quad injury is nothing to rush through. Plus, we’re only in Week 4. Johnson and the Bears have bigger fish to fry down the line, but can’t do it if their best corner is unavailable.
At minimum, Johnson’s absence could give this team more tape to evaluate the other corners on the roster. We have an idea what the Bears have in Johnson. But it sure would be nice to see if Kyler Gordon and Kindle Vildor can make developmental strides of their own when challenged.
On the other side of the field, the Giants are dealing with receiver injuries. Sterling Shepard’s ACL injury will knock him out from what is already a group of pass-catchers with limitations. So perhaps now represents a good time to give Johnson some extra rest for recuperation purposes. Because if this figures to be a ground-and-pound game, then the Bears could scheme their way to properly make hay without their top cornerback.
