Optimism surrounding the Chicago Bears teems this offseason after the hiring of coach Ben Johnson and roster upgrades.
After years of being hoodwinked, veteran cornerback Jaylon Johnson isn't going overboard in April.
"I've been through it too many times," Johnson said as the club opened offseason workouts Tuesday, via the team's official transcript. "I'm going to get excited when we win in November and December and we change some things and get to the playoffs, that's when I'll be excited."
Johnson verbalized a similar refrain ahead of the Bears' 2024 season when the hype about Caleb Williams overflowed. Johnson's comments proved prescient, as Chicago crumbled last season, leading to Matt Eberflus' firing.
For Johnson, the chatter and high praise in the spring and summer are meaningless, which makes all the noise easy to ignore.
"That doesn't have anything to do with me," he said. "The only thing that has anything to do with me is the work that I put in and the work we put in as a unit. Taking the steps in the right direction. Other than that, the talk, the hype and all that -- I mean, hype doesn't win you no games. I've been here a minute; I've been through the hype and we don't win games. For me, if it's not about winning, quite honestly, I don't really care about it."
In five seasons in Chicago, Johnson's teams have never earned a better-than-.500 record. Only in his rookie campaign did the Bears make the playoffs or finish better than third in the NFC North. In that context, Johnson's comments are understandable. The two-time Pro Bowler is ready to turn chatter into W's -- finally.
