Jaylon Johnson tired of Bears hype: 'It's about action'

Veteran Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson hopes Chicago can finally live up to the hype that surrounds them yet again heading into the 2024 season.

"I feel like I've been on some talented rosters to where we've had a lot of upside," Johnson recently said, according to ESPN's Courtney Cronin. "I feel like, for me, it's one of those things where I'm tired of just having upside and having potential. I want to be in a position where we actually go out there and we are that and not just what we're projected to be at."

He added: "It's about action at this point."

The Bears were one of the 2024 offseason's biggest winners: They drafted quarterback Caleb Williams first overall, used a top-10 selection on wide receiver Rome Odunze, and traded for six-time Pro Bowl wideout Keenan Allen, among other moves.

Chicago - which went 7-10 in 2023 - hasn't posted a winning season since the 2018 campaign. The team's last playoff win dates back to January 2011.

"The projections, the energy, the enthusiasm, all feels good in the beginning because everybody, every team, every fan (says), 'Oh this is our year,'" said Johnson, whom the Bears drafted in the second round in 2020. "I'm not on that type of time as far as, 'Oh yeah, this is our year.'

"Nah, we got to go out here and we got to prove it, and I think that starts with Day 1, starts with today. But that's something that's going to carry on from now until the end of the season, whenever that is, if that's playoffs or not."

Johnson, 25, set a career high with four interceptions last season and signed a four-year, $76-million extension in March.

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