Cornerback Jaylon Johnson felt ‘all the emotions’ following 2 INTs in Chicago Bears’ win over Raiders

CHICAGO – After the celebration was over, the crowd died down again as Tyson Bagent and the Bears’ offense took the field. Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson, moments removed from his second interception of the afternoon, knelt by himself – far from his teammates – at the 28-yard line, with his hands on his knees.

The 24-year-old cornerback said a prayer.

A teammate and a staffer went up to him, but nothing could break Johnson’s concentration. They took the hint and gave him his space. Johnson waited two years for his second career interception. Then he had two in a matter of minutes and the Bears locked up a win, 30-12, against the Las Vegas Raiders at Soldier Field on Sunday.

“All the emotions hit me,” Johnson said of that moment after the game. “God has done so much for me. I was just taking that time to give him the glory.”

When Johnson stood, teammate Tyrique Stevenson met him with a big, long hug.

“You could feel the emotion in him,” Stevenson said. “Just something he’s been wanting, something he’s been praying about, something we’ve been talking about.”

Johnson had two fourth-quarter interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. First, he picked off Raiders quarterback Brian Hoyer, jumping in front of receiver Davante Adams and running 39-yards untouched to the end zone.

Johnson had waited 763 days for his second career interception. Just minutes later, he had another one against Raiders backup QB Aidan O’Connell. Prior to Sunday, Johnson hadn’t had an interception since Week 2 of the 2021 season.

Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds also had an interception in Sunday’s game. The Bears won the turnover battle, 3-0. Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent played a clean game for the offense and running back D’Onta Foreman scored three total touchdowns. It all set off a party at Soldier Field, where the Bears hadn’t won a game since Sept. 25, 2022.

For Johnson, it was about the win, but it was about so much more.

Johnson is in the final year of his four-year rookie contract and he has been clear that he wants to be paid among the highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL. But the highest-paid cornerbacks create turnovers, and prior to Sunday’s game Johnson had just one career interception. He has known all along that this is the thing missing from his resume.

When he scored the touchdown, Johnson celebrated by signaling dollar bills with his hands. It was no secret what Johnson was telling the Bears and the rest of the NFL. He has been one of the best coverage corners in the NFL over the past several years, whether the turnovers have come or not. A two-interception game was a statement.

“I’ve been wanting to get to the [negotiating] table,” Johnson said. “I know who I am. I know I can play this game at a high level. I feel like I deserve to be paid like that, so I’m taking that attitude for any team, for anybody in the NFL. If it’s with the Bears, then I’ll do that. If it’s with anybody else, for sure.”

The NFL trade deadline is Oct. 31, a little more than a week away. Of the players in the final year of their contracts, Johnson is the most valuable trade pieces on the Bears’ roster. If general manager Ryan Poles doesn’t want to invest in Johnson, it could make sense to flip him for future draft picks.

The trade deadline is the last opportunity for the Bears to do so. They did the same thing with linebacker Roquan Smith last year. Teams would pay a high price for a player who could be a middle- to low-end No. 1 cornerback or a really high-end No. 2 cornerback on a contender.

But Johnsons also showed Sunday that he’s one of the Bears’ best players. Good teams find ways to keep their best players.

“He’s been so solid for us all year,” linebacker T.J. Edwards told Shaw Local. “I was just so happy for him, man. He’s an absolute playmaker, an absolute dog. Seeing him make two big plays, one to the house, it was crazy.”

Johnson has made about $5.7 million over the course of his four-year rookie contract. But a new deal for a top cornerback could pay him twice that – potentially even three or four times that – per season. Johnson has a young daughter who he’s thinking about throughout this whole process.

That’s why Johnson was so emotional Sunday.

“I just been me doing a lot of work as a man, doing a lot of work individually,” Johnson said. “Just being in the moment, being present and knowing how much God has truly blessed me from the inside out and just being able to make plays on that platform, being able to do things that I’ve dreamed about.”