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Bears reporter on training camp takeaways: We’ve learned how intense Ben Johnson is
From Ben Johnson's intensity to Caleb Williams' progress, Fox 32’s Cassie Carlson breaks down what we’ve learned as Bears training camp comes to an end. A live look at what happened today, what’s happening now, and what’s coming tonight—no script, just real news.
Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson is on the cusp.
The star defensive playmaker has come off the non-football injury list, and is on the Bears' 53-man roster ahead of Week 1. But, he hasn't been cleared to play yet.
If he's going to get cleared for Monday Night Football, he has a list of demands to check off first to officially return from what he called a "freak accident."
"I’m doing everything I can to be ready," Johnson said in a scrum with reporters on Tuesday. "I'm just trying to do everything I can do to be back."
The backstory:
For Johnson, this offseason was frustrating. Part of it was sitting out for so long and watching his teammates practice without him. He said he could watch training camp while he was in recovery, but only when the Bears practiced on fields one and two.
The worst days were when the Bears practiced on fields three and four, which meant Johnson couldn't watch.
But, the most frustrating thing was how Johnson got hurt.
This offseason, Johnson was training with receivers and getting up to speed for camp. He made one of the same moves working on his release against receivers that he's made countless times. That's when he suffered a groin injury, which the Bears coaches called a soft-tissue injury.
"Honestly, it was a freak accident," Johnson said.
The coaches and front office were being delicate with Johnson's injury, and rightfully so. Johnson is being delicate, too. He said if the Bears were playing a game today, then he probably wouldn't be able to play.
The coaches are seeing improvement, but they need to make sure they're take steps forward and not backwards.
"Whenever a guy misses that significant amount of time, you're very cautious in making sure that that injury doesn't recur again," Ben Johnson said. "I know that he's feeling significantly better than, obviously, he was the from the start. We'll see what he looks like moving around and, hopefully, take it from there. But I know that he's excited to get back out with his teammates here soon."
This summer has been a test for the Utah product entering his sixth year in the NFL in multiple ways.
"It's a mental test, but I'm coming out better," Johnson said.
What's next:
If Johnson wants to play this week, he'll need to show that he's ready.
Sitting out for that long and missing so much of training camp means his conditioning isn't where it needs to be to play in an NFL game. But, he has this week to get there.
Obviously, Johnson wants to play. However, the biggest hurdle will be getting cleared to practice on Tuesday.
"I like to say I can go out there and play," Johnson said. "This week will be important to get the pads back on."
Once he gets cleared, then he can show the coaches his conditioning is where it needs to be in order to play.
"It really depends on where my body's at," Johnson said. "Hopefully, my body can respond pretty quickly."
It's safe to say the Bears would love to have one of the NFL's best cover corners active against a Vikings' offense that includes star receiver Justin Jefferson, savvy veteran Adam Theilen and the offensive-minded coach Kevin O'Connell.
They won't have the talented No. 2 receiver in Jordan Addison, who's been suspended for the first three games of the season. But, Minnesota is still talented nonetheless. Johnson has played against this offense plenty. He knows how he can be effective.
"We know what they have," Johnson said. "We've played against these guys plenty of times."
Johnson said one of the things he gleaned about the Bears' defense when he was able to watch camp practices was how they feed off each other.
He wants to be able to bring an extra addition to a defense that's impressed plenty of times in training camp under first-year defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.
"The more that we had energy, the more dominant we were," Johnson said. "For me, coming back, its about bringing that energy."