Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson earns 2nd-team All-Pro

Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson has reached the milestone that he has been so vocal about. Johnson has been saying for much of this season that he wanted to earn All-Pro honors.

On Friday, the Associated Press named Johnson a second-team All-Pro cornerback. Johnson already had earned a spot at this year’s Pro Bowl.

Johnson is the only AP All-Pro from the Bears on either the first or second team this season. First-team cornerback honors went to the Cowboys’ DaRon Bland and the Jets’ Sauce Gardner. Kansas City’s Trent McDuffie earned first-team honors at slot cornerback.

Johnson and San Francisco’s Charvarius Ward earned second-team honors as outside cornerbacks.

All-Pro honors and the AP NFL MVP award are voted on by a panel of 50 members of the media from across the country.

This was Johnson’s first time earning All-Pro honors. He is set to become a free agent in March. The Bears and Johnson tried to work out a long-term contact extension before the trade deadline in October but were unable to. At that point, the Bears allowed Johnson to seek a trade. No deal ultimately emerged, and Johnson played out the remainder of the season with the Bears.

Johnson had four interceptions this season, including one returned for a touchdown. He’s widely considered one of the best coverage cornerbacks in the game, even if his interception numbers before this season (only one in three previous seasons) were low.

Jaylon’s not going to go anywhere and we’ll work through it to get something done.”

—  Ryan Poles, Bears general manager

He almost certainly would be the best cornerback on the free agent market if he gets there. The Bears, however, could use the franchise tag on him if they can’t agree to a contract extension between now and late February.

“The big thing was just kind of take a break here after the season and then we’ll start talks again,” Bears general manager Ryan Poles said this week. “I feel really good about that situation. Jaylon’s not going to go anywhere, and we’ll work through it to get something done.”