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UPDATE: Jaylon Johnson is staying with the Bears, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport.
ORIGINAL STORY BELOW.
It’s been a relatively quiet day for Philadelphia Eagles rumors ahead of Tuesday’s 4:00 PM Eastern NFL trade deadline. But here’s one from Jordan Schultz, who indicates the Birds are interested in Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson.
“Buffalo, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh ... those are the four most likely suitors. Jaylon Johnson has been really frustrated with the lack of an extension he feels he deserves. It would take about $15 million per season to make Jaylon Johnson one of the top 10 cornerbacks that I think he is. I think certainly at this point in his career — a second-round pick out of Utah — he has become one of the premier young corners in the league. [...] It will be a big asking price but they’ve made zero progress on an extension.”
There was also this from Jeremy Fowler earlier on Tuesday:
From late last night…Bears and Johnson’s agent Chris Ellison have next seven hours to swing a deal. Teams I’ve talked to believe San Fran, Pittsburgh and Philly have been in corner market to some degree. https://t.co/kbsabNb5NZ
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) October 31, 2023
Johnson, 24, is an intriguing young talent playing in the last year of his rookie contract. He’s shown some improvement each season and he’s playing his best ball this year. Johnson already has a career-high two picks in just six games played. He’s allowed a mere 44.3 passer rating when targeted.
It’s not hard to believe the Eagles could have interest in his talent. The fit in Philly, though? That’s not as easy to envision. The Eagles are already paying two big-money cornerback contracts to Darius Slay and James Bradberry on the outside. And it’s not like Johnson has any kind of significant experience playing in the slot. The Eagles could move Bradberry inside like they did earlier this season ... but they didn’t seem to love how that went for them.
It’s possible that Chicago’s front office — which notably includes former Eagles executive and current Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham — is playing up relatively casual interest from Philly to try to increase their leverage ahead of trading Johnson. I tend to think the Eagles aren’t going to be the team that deals for him.
But we’ll soon see ahead of 4:00 PM.
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