Bears CB Jaylon Johnson is ready to win now

After four years in the NFL, Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson has still never been part of a winning season. In that time frame, the Bears’ best finish was his rookie year, when they went 8-8 and were easily swept aside by the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card round.

Johnson is ready for that to change. He’s ready to win. After the first day of training camp, he told ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, “I’m tired of just having upside and having potential. I want to be in a position where we actually go out there and we are that and not just what we’re projected to be at.”

It’s hard to blame him for being dissatisfied with potential. Bears fans are tired of it, too, and they’re not the ones going out there and playing the games. 2018 was the last time the Bears were actually decent. It was also the last time they beat the Green Bay Packers and won the NFC North. Since then, it’s been nothing but losing.

Johnson went on to say, “It’s about action at this point… we got to go out here and we got to prove it and I think that starts with Day 1, starts with today. But that’s something that’s going to carry on from now until the end of the season, whenever that is, if that’s playoffs or not.”

While he stopped short of calling 2024 the Bears’ year, Johnson made clear what his expectations are this season. He wants wins, he wants the team to be talked about as a legitimate playoff contender, and I’m sure he’s not the only veteran who feels that way.

Will it happen in 2024? It depends on who you ask. Some NFL analysts think the Bears are a year away from being a year away. Others think that they could win as many as 12 games this season. Rich Eisen went so far as to say that in a best-case scenario for the Bears, i.e., Caleb Williams is a superstar and key players void major injuries, they could represent the NFC in the Super Bowl this coming February.

Whatever your prediction is, Johnson likely doesn’t care. “Everybody, every team, every fan [says], “Oh this is our year, this is our year”, so I’m not on that type of time,” he said. He’s not worried about win projections and over/unders. Right now, he’s focused on putting his head down and doing the work, and that should be encouraging for Bears fans.