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Chicago Bears to place franchise tag on CB Jaylon Johnson

By Chris Kwiecinski
Published  March 5, 2024 1:14pm CST
Bears
FOX 32 Chicago

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CHICAGO, Ill. - The Chicago Bears have been confident they can lock cornerback Jaylon Johnson up with a long-term contract. On Tuesday, the franchise gave itself more time.

The Bears have placed their non-exclusive franchise tag on Johnson, the team announced on Tuesday afternoon. ESPN and NFL Network first reported the move.

Johnson’s franchise tag number is $19.8 million, which is how much he will make in 2024 should he play under the franchise tag. His four-year rookie contract, which expired after the 2023 season, had an average salary of $1,617,193 per season.

Chicago will still try re-sign him to a long-term deal, and now has until July 15 to work out a long term deal.

Under the non-exclusive franchise tag, Johnson is allowed to negotiate with other teams. If another team comes to Johnson with an offer, the Bears would have a chance to match that offer. If the Bears decline to match, they would receive two first-round picks from the new team Johnson signs with.

Johnson had a career year in 2023, earning Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors. He was set to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and was fairly vocal about his desire to be one of the highest paid cornerbacks in the league after his breakout season.

This is the latest development on the attempt to re-sign Johnson. In January, Bears GM Ryan Poles said he wasn't going anywhere, calling his shot that Johnson would stay in Chicago.

At the Combine, Poles basically doubled down on that sentiment. He said he would love to avoid using the franchise tag if possible, however Poles did acknowledge that it was possible.

"Conversations are going well at this time," Poles said last Tuesday in Indianapolis. "We feel like we've done a really good job kind of coming to the table strong, showing the respect that he's due just in terms of his production through his career and really an emphasis on the turnovers that he created this past year. Our expectation is that's going to continue to go as he's with the Bears."