On Saturday, the Chicago Bears dropped a big surprise. Now, they have put Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson on injured reserve too, which will keep him out a minimum of four games. Johnson, 26, has been trying to overcome a chronic groin injury throughout the summer. This injury made him miss out on both training camp and the preseason. He sat out the Bears’ season opener against the Minnesota Vikings with this chronic condition.
Johnson’s injury flared up again during the Bears’ Week 2 matchup against the Detroit Lions. But soon after that return to the field, he left the game for good in the second quarter with a leg injury after a pass breakup. Without him, the Bears secondary will need to find its footing in the wake of losing the team’s most dynamic player.
Johnson missed practice both Thursday and Friday. One might wonder why, as a team, they sought any further medical opinions on the extent of his recovery. The Bears are still planning for his rehab going forward. They felt it best to put him on injured reserve because of the serious nature of his ailment.
Johnson isn’t the only one on the IR. With Kiran Amegadjie joining him, the Bears’ defensive corpse has been picked clean.
Head coach Dennis Allen admitted the tough strain that exists when losing someone of Johnson’s importance.
“You know obviously when you lose a player of that caliber it’s a big hinderance to your football team. So you’ve got to readjust how you operate, the calls you make, and each and every week is going to be different.” – Dennis Allen
In spite of their success, the Bears are looking ahead to future games. Now that Johnson is gone, they need to change their approach and play-calling.
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