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Carmen Vitali
NFC North Reporter
The Chicago Bears have locked up yet another defensive cornerstone, signing cornerback Jaylon Johnson to a four-year contract extension two days after franchise-tagging him.
The homegrown talent was drafted under the prior regime in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Since then, he’s steadily ascended into one of the best corners in the league. Chicago is now paying him like it.
Multiple reports indicate the deal encompasses is for four years and $76 million, putting his average annual contract value at $19 million per year. This isn’t the very top of the cornerback market — Green Bay’s Jaire Alexander still owns that spot with an average of $21 million per year — but Johnson’s deal is front loaded with $54 million in guarantees. Johnson will reportedly be paid $60 million in the first three years of the deal.
The 24-year-old Johnson will also be able to hit the open market again before he turns 30.
“We’re extremely excited to be able to keep Jaylon here for the next four years,” general manager Ryan Poles said in a team statement. “He’s an integral part of our defense and his leadership will help our team continue to ascend.”
This means the Bears have now signed long-term deals for players at all three levels of the defense. Last offseason, they got linebacker Tremaine Edmunds in free agency, giving him a four-year deal worth $72 million. With nine games left in the 2023 season, Chicago traded for defensive end Montez Sweat. They signed him to a four-year, $98 million deal days later.
Don’t look now, but the Bears’ rebuild is right on schedule.
Johnson was a major component in the Bears defense’s success this past year, which saw things click into place after the Sweat deal. Toward the back half of the season, the Bears recorded 16 interceptions in just seven games.
Johnson tied for the team lead in interceptions last season with four. Johnson was also the best among Bears’…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/bears-maintain-steady-rebuilding-effort-by-re-signing-key-cb-jaylon-johnson
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Publish date : 2024-03-08 01:18:35
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