With contract negotiations still far apart, the Bears have given cornerback Jaylon Johnson permission to seek a trade, a source confirmed to NBC Sports Chicago. NFL Media and ESPN were the first to report the news.
A source told NBC Sports Chicago the chances of a deal happening are “around 50-50” with limited time to get a deal done before the deadline.
Johnson, 24, is in the final year of his rookie contract which pays him $3 million this season. Johnson has said he’s not looking to reset the market but wants a long-term deal that gives him “security” and “respect.”
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Bears' General Manager Ryan Poles has said he wants to keep the Bears “homegrown players but a deal has to make sense for both sides.” The Bears are slated to have around $110 million in salary cap space this off-season, per OverTheCap.com.
It would take a contract near $15 million a year to make Johnson one of the 10 highest paid cornerbacks in the league.
That’s something Johnson has proven he is worth this season.
So far this season, Johnson has given up just 11 catches for 120 yards and one touchdown. He has two interceptions on the season and is allowing a passer rating of just 37.3 when targeted.
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Last season, Poles traded star linebacker Roquan Smith at the deadline for a second and a fifth-round pick. Poles and Smith were far apart in contract negotiations and Poles elected to move on.
Poles has been disciplined in his roster-building approach. He has set firm numbers for contract valuations and stuck to them. There’s a chance this is just giving Johnson a chance to survey the market and see what his worth is to help bring the numbers closer together.
But trading Johnson instead of rewarding him for his play in head coach Matt Eberflus’ system and buy-in would be a mistake.
At a certain point you have to pay and retain top-tier young talent, especially at premium positions. Trading Johnson would not only make the Bears’ roster worse in the short and long term, but also would send a negative message to a locker room that has been honest about much losing Smith and Robert Quinn hurt them last year.
Poles took a step in the right direction when he extended tight end Cole Kmet. That sent a message to the players he didn’t draft that they would be rewarded for hard work, production and buy-in.
Arguably no one has checked those boxes more than Johnson since Poles and Eberflus arrived.
The Bears drafted cornerbacks Tyrique Stevenson and Terell Smith this past April, giving them insurance should Johnson not work out long term.
Both Stevenson and Smith might turn out to be good players in the future but Johnson is one of the best cover corners in the NFL right now and hasn’t even reached his prime.
Draft picks and cap space look good on paper. They are good talking points for a team still early in a rebuild with limited signs of progress.
Elite players at premium positions win in the NFL. It’s bad business not to retain and build around them.
Trading Johnson by 3 p.m. CT today would show Poles is failing what should be an easy test for a GM to pass.