(670 The Score) The price tag appears to be going up if the Bears want to retain top cornerback Jaylon Johnson on a long-term contract extension.
In his weekly appearance on the Parkins & Spiegel Show on Monday evening, Johnson confirmed his view on how much he deserves in his next contract has changed in recent weeks and months. Earlier in the season, Johnson acknowledged that in his first three NFL seasons, he hadn’t produced enough takeaways and game-changing plays to deserve to be paid at a top-of-the-market rate. Johnson had just one interception in his first three seasons.
With four interceptions in 11 games in his fourth NFL season, the 24-year-old Johnson is changing that narrative. And with that, he believes he deserves more on his next deal than he originally thought.
"After this season, I feel like there's not anything that you can say that I'm not doing,” Johnson said. “I feel like before the season, (I felt) for three years, I’ve covered at a high rate. And it’s been like, ‘Oh, can he get the interception? Can he get the interception?’ So it’s like, after this year, you can’t say I can’t cover at a high level … You can’t say I’m not an elite cover guy. You can’t say that I can’t take the ball away. You can’t say to me that I can’t tackle. So I mean, realistically, what is it that I can’t do that deserves top pay, top corner money? I feel like now there’s definitely opportunity and room – and especially if I touch All-Pro. I feel like there’s not anything that I haven’t done that’s deserving of it.”
Johnson is in the final year of his contract. His representation and the Bears have failed to work out a contract extension throughout the course of this season despite efforts to do so. The two sides met in late October in Los Angeles but couldn’t reach an agreement. Johnson then requested a trade out Chicago, hoping to find an opportunity and a big payday elsewhere, but the Bears didn’t deal him away as the trade deadline passed.
Asked if the Bears missed their chance before the trade deadline to get him on a discount, Johnson smiled and thought for a second.
“Maybe, I mean maybe,” he said. “I’m thinking the same way y’all are thinking.”
Johnson is graded as the best cornerback in the NFL this season, according to Pro Football Focus.
Of course, it’s worth noting that the Bears don’t have to acquiesce to Johnson’s desired number in negotiations on a long-term contract. They could use the franchise tag to retain him in 2024 on a one-year deal that would pay him the average of the top five salaries at his position.
And how would Johnson feel if the Bears used the franchise tag on him?
“The money is still good,” Johnson joked.
The Packers’ Jaire Alexander has the contract with the highest average annual value among NFL cornerbacks, as he earns an average of $21 million annually. Browns cornerback Denzel Ward has signed the biggest contract at the position, as he’s working on a five-year deal worth up to $100.5 million. It includes about $71 million guaranteed.