Ryan Poles putting full trust his draft picks following Jaylon Johnson trade request
The Chicago Bears made a critical decision on Monday night regarding disgruntled cornerback Jaylon Johnson. The team granted Johnson permission to seek a trade leading up to today's NFL trade deadline at 4:00pm EST. The decision to allow Johnson to seek a trade proves on thing about Bears general manager Ryan Poles. He's ready to […]
The Chicago Bears made a critical decision on Monday night regarding disgruntled cornerback Jaylon Johnson. The team granted Johnson permission to seek a trade leading up to today's NFL trade deadline at 4:00pm EST.
The decision to allow Johnson to seek a trade proves on thing about Bears general manager Ryan Poles. He's ready to firmly put his trust into the players he's drafted.
This is a move we see quite frequently with young general managers in the NFL. Those types of executives constantly prefer to draft and develop their own talent as opposed to negotiating with the stars that are already on the roster when they take over. This is exactly what we are seeing with Johnson and the Bears secondary.
The writing was all over the walls for this type of eventual move to happen in Chicago. Johnson has missed eight games in the last two seasons, prompting Poles to begin stockpiling his own hand chosen talent at the position.
Last year, the Bears drafted nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon with their first selection in the 2022 NFL Draft. This past April, Poles selected two more perimeter cornerbacks in second-round pick Tyrique Stevenson and fifth-round pick Terell Smith in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Stevenson and Smith have been important pieces to the Bears secondary throughout this season after Gordon and Johnson were both out. Stevenson is tied for third in the NFL with 6 pass breakups in 2023 and Smith has allowed the fifth lowest passer rating among rookie cornerbacks with 100+ pass coverage snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
Gordon, Stevenson, and Smith are still young and raw at the position but Poles has seen enough to entrust the position to his young trio. That decision makes Johnson the odd man out, even if he is the most experienced and most productive player at the position. At the end of the day, he was never Poles guy which had to have negatively affected the long-term contract negotiations between the two sides.
The Bears will have just a few hours remaining to find a trade partner willing to acquire Johnson. If no trade is made by the 4:00pm EST window, Johnson will play out the remainder of the season with the Bears.
If that's the case, Poles will more than likely franchise tag the upcoming unrestricted free agent in order to make sure the team will still get some trade compensation in return. Then, it's officially Poles' secondary on defense with the guys he hand chose to run it long-term.
Bears grant Jaylon Johnson permission to seek a trade after failed contract negotiations
Looks like their top CB will be on the move
