Despite Recent Comments, It’s Still Hard Seeing Bears CB Jaylon Johnson Land With Steelers
Do you recall all of the rumors and speculations from the previous season leading up to the NFL trade deadline about the Pittsburgh Steelers maybe considering a deal for Chicago Bears wide receiver Jaylon Johnson? Whether or if the Steelers were interested in trade for Johnson, it is certain that they did not, since the seasoned cornerback played out the 2023 season with Chicago. Many Steelers supporters will undoubtedly be keeping a close eye on Johnson’s situation in the upcoming weeks as the offseason gets going, especially since he is presently set to become an unrestricted free agency in March.
Johnson spoke about his immediate future this week while participating in the 2023 Pro Bowl events, and he had some intriguing things to say about it.
“My heart is in Chicago, my mind is right on target,” Johnson allegedly said to NFL.com during Saturday’s Pro Bowl drills. We’ll see if we can persuade them both to cooperate and complete a task, I suppose. I’m excited to see what lies ahead.
What then does all of it signify? To put it briefly, Johnson wants to be paid a lot of money throughout the offseason. In all honesty, he deserves it and most likely will be after the offseason smoke clears.
It is important to note that the Bears will most likely apply the franchise tag to their great cornerback in the upcoming weeks before we discuss Johnson’s potential joining the Steelers in the summer.
As of right now, Over the limit projects the Bears to be well over $46 million under the limit for the next season, which means that the anticipated franchise tag figure for cornerbacks in 2024 is $18.421 million.
In the event that the Bears award Johnson the franchise tag, earnest negotiations on a long-term deal would presumably start. Maybe one that would make the cornerback the most paid player in the NFL for his position. At $21 million annually on average, Green Bay Packers CB Jaire Alexander now holds that distinction. At this point, it really ought to be Johnson’s offseason objective.
What would happen, particularly in the lead-up to the 2024 NFL Draft, if the Bears tag Johnson and are unable to negotiate a new contract with him? The Bears could certainly try to trade Johnson for a very fine return, which would probably include one or more high draft picks, should such a situation come to pass.
The club that signed Johnson as a cornerback would first need to be able to pay his franchise tender, which is once again anticipated to be in the area of $18.421 million, should the Bears elect to tag and move the player.
It will be harder for many clubs, including the Steelers, to achieve that as the 2024 NFL Draft approaches. Although it is evident that the Steelers, or any other NFL club, could manipulate their salary cap position sufficiently to acquire Johnson while he is wearing the franchise tag, how many will actually want to?
In the event that a club were to acquire Johnson through trade after franchise tagging, it would be incumbent upon the acquiring team to negotiate a contract extension with the cornerback at that juncture.
That may provide a challenge for a team like the Steelers, presuming he wants to be among the top three paid cornerbacks in the NFL this offseason and assuming he will probably want the first three years of his new contract fully guaranteed. Particularly considering their past experiences managing extraordinarily expensive free agents in the off-season.
Again, when it comes to the Steelers, we are not talking about impossibly difficult conditions because, if they truly, truly want the guy, they can make it work, which includes meeting contract requirements. Nevertheless, it seems improbable that they would jump through all the hoops required to obtain Johnson and then fulfill his contract requirements.
By the way, Johnson stated at the Pro Bowl activities in Orlando, Florida on Saturday that he thinks he is among the NFL’s top cornerbacks coming into this offseason and that’s why he should be compensated for it between now and the 2024 regular season’s opening.
Without a question. When asked if he thought he had established himself as one of the NFL’s finest corners at the moment, Johnson responded, “No doubt.” “I believe that I have simply, as I mentioned earlier, kept getting better throughout my career.”
During his year-end news conference a little less than a month ago, Bears general manager Ryan Poles discussed Johnson’s impending summer issue.
Poles said at the time that Johnson would not be allowed to enter free agency this summer by the Bears.
Poles said, “Our communication is really good.” “Taking a rest here at the end of the season was crucial. We’ll resume our conversation. We are quite pleased with the circumstances. Jaylon has no intention of leaving.
To be quite honest, I will be shocked if by Week One of the 2024 regular season, Johnson is not playing for the Bears. But if Johnson ends up signing with another club over the summer, I wouldn’t be shocked if it happens to be the Steelers.
We’ll have to wait and see how Johnson’s situation plays out in the summer, but for the time being, I see his remarks from Saturday on his future as more of him showcasing his importance to the Bears in general.
The Steelers will need to address the depth issue at cornerback this offseason since James Pierre, Levi Wallace, and Chandon Sullivan are all set to become unrestricted free agents in March. In addition, it will be fascinating to watch whether the Steelers choose to keep veteran wide receiver Patrick Peterson on the roster this offseason. Peterson is expected to earn a $3 million roster bonus in March in addition to his $3.85 million regular salary in 2024.
I’ll be interested to see how they handle that position group in the summer.
Last but not least, would Johnson work in Pittsburgh? He would, without a doubt, and it makes sense why so many Steelers supporters are hoping the club can somehow make it happen. Even while I would also really like to see it happen, I really doubt it will in the end. To be honest, I think Johnson’s greatest chance of joining the Steelers was lost during the NFL trade deadline the previous year.