Windy City Gridiron
The Chicago Bears will have to wait just a little longer for their best defensive player to return to action.
The team announced that Johnson, who was limited in practice on Friday to officially open his 21-day window to return from injured reserve, will not play against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday after originally being listed as questionable.
Of course, this isn’t a huge surprise.
Johnson hasn’t practiced or played since Week 2, when he suffered yet another groin injury against the Detroit Lions. He promptly went on IR and had core muscle surgery to repair the issue. Soft tissue injuries are notoriously difficult to gauge in terms of when someone is ready to play again, hence why the Bears opted to place Johnson and cornerback Kyler Gordon (hamstring) on IR and just let them heal for a bit.
Without a doubt, waiting until Johnson can practice in full for multiple days in a row is the right play, even though the Bears could’ve used Johnson against Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and the Vikings.
Chicago has already paid the price for bringing Johnson back before he was ready after he struggled with an injury to the opposite groin in training camp. They need him for the stretch run as they make their final push for the playoffs, sure. But the Bears as currently constructed should be able to beat the Vikings on the road without Johnson in the fold and give JJ McCarthy trouble. (One strategy they can use is to double Jefferson with Nahshon Wright and a safety over the top and let Tyrique Stevenson handle Addison one-on-one.)
If the Bears play this right, they’ll have Johnson, Gordon, and TJ Edwards back by the time they face the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers, two of the most critical games of their season. In the meantime, next man up.
The good news: the Bears’ lengthy injury report this week didn’t result in many absences. Only Johnson, Edwards, and receiver Jahdae Walker have been ruled out so far, while 11 players, including Stevenson and starting running back D’Andre Swift, are in for the game.
Bottom line: the Bears are in about as good of shape as they can be going into Sunday’s divisional matchup. Once Johnson returns, it’s going to be even better.
