The Chicago Bears receive a significant boost to their secondary before Friday’s matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles. Cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon were activated from the injured reserve list, just before the team’s trip to Philadelphia on Thursday. Both Johnson and Gordon were listed as questionable for the match, according to the team’s latest injury report. Johnson has been absent for almost the entire season due to a core muscle injury suffered in the second quarter of Chicago’s Week 2 loss against Detroit. The Pro Bowl cornerback underwent surgery in September and returned to training nine weeks later. Gordon has participated in two games this season, after a hamstring injury forced him to miss Weeks 1-4, and subsequently, calf and groin injuries led him to the injured reserve list before Week 8. It’s important to note that none of Chicago’s starting cornerbacks have played together this season. The activation of Johnson and Gordon comes at a crucial time, given that the Bears will be without Tyrique Stevenson, who was ruled out due to a hip injury suffered against Pittsburgh on November 23rd.
I just go back to the moment we started training them. It was with the general idea in mind. How do we acclimate them, make sure we’re putting them in a good place?
Ben Johnson, CoachCoach Ben Johnson stated that the Bears will be cautious with the amount of play they expect from Gordon and Jaylon Johnson, who should be active on Friday. While the Bears’ secondary recovers, the team’s linebacker corps remains thin. Tremaine Edmunds will miss the next three games due to injury, and the remaining top three linebackers, T.J. Edwards, Noah Sewell, and Ruben Hyppolite, did not practice this week and were ruled out. The Bears are expected to turn again to D’Marco Jackson and Amen Ogbongbemiga, who combined for 29 tackles against the Steelers.
