Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson is weighing the possibility of season-ending surgery after suffering a groin injury Sunday in the 52-21 loss to the Lions.
While coach Ben Johnson kept it vague Monday, Jaylon Johnson said on 670 The Score’s Spiegel and Holmes show that it’s a “complex” injury and is related to the one that kept him out of the entire preseason and season opener. It’s a serious concern for a struggling defense.
Johnson said he’s grappling with his “season to pretty much be ended,” although he wouldn’t rule out going on injured reserve and trying to come back this season.
“It’s tricky to give a definitive answer, but I’m trying to figure out what’s the best move long term,” Johnson said. “You don’t want it to keep happening. Now that there’s more damage, how much do you want to push through? Even if it does work until November, then it’s pushing surgery back.”
It sounded as though going on IR was a given, meaning Johnson would miss the game Sunday against the Cowboys and the next three. If he goes on IR this week, the earliest he could return would be Week 8 against the Ravens.
Johnson leaped to deflect a pass in the second quarter Sunday, then fell to the turf and stayed facedown while trainers checked him. He was shortly ruled out for the rest of the game.
He missed time in the summer after tearing the adductor muscle off his pelvic bone while training at UNLV just days before he was scheduled to report to Halas Hall.
That injury was in one area of the groin, but “now the other side is compromised,” Johnson said.
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