Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson didn’t practice during training camp and didn’t play in the preseason, leading to speculation that he might be unhappy with his contract. But Johnson says his absence was entirely the result of a groin injury.
Although Johnson said in an offseason interview that he might need to talk to the Bears about where he deserves to rank among the highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL, he told reporters on Tuesday that his contract has nothing to do with why he didn’t practice in camp.
“You know me better than that,” Johnson said. “I never held out. I’ve never done any of that stuff. For the media, it’s a good play as far as the contract and the timing and things, but I’m not that type of cat.”
Johnson said he suffered the painful groin injury during a routine offseason workout.
“I had a groin injury over the offseason,” Johnson said. “It was a freak accident as far as the injury, same movement I’ve made plenty of times, and had a bad injury in my groin.”
Johnson said he is optimistic he can play in the Bears’ regular-season opener on Monday night against the Vikings.
