Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson said Monday it’s his “understanding” that Jaylon Johnson will have surgery on his injured groin, and he left open the possibility of the Pro Bowl cornerback’s return later this season.
Meanwhile, Ben Johnson said rookie tight end Colston Loveland’s hip injury “doesn’t seem like anything super serious, but we’ll see what that looks like.” Loveland left in the first half of Sunday’s 31-14 win against the Dallas Cowboys at Soldier Field.
The Bears head to Las Vegas next for a Week 4 matchup Sunday against the Raiders.
Jaylon Johnson was placed on injured reserve Saturday and missed his second game of the season.
“My last understanding was that there was going to be the surgery,” Ben Johnson told reporters Monday at Halas Hall, adding that “yes, there is” a possibility Jaylon Johnson could return at some point this season.
His placement on injured reserve means he must miss a minimum of four games, including Sunday’s game against the Cowboys.
The two-time Pro Bowl selection’s absence stands to be a big blow to the Bears secondary, which also has made do without starting nickel back Kyler Gordon (hamstring).
“It’s pretty much next man up,” said cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, who had a game-changing strip of running back Javonte Williams and fumble recovery to end the Cowboys’ first drive. “You’ve got to step up.
“Jaylon was a big part of this defense and right now we’re missing that, and for me and all the other guys in the room, all we can do is pick up the slack and go out there and play our best game to make sure there ain’t no fall-off without Jaylon being out there.”
The secondary certainly picked up the slack against the Cowboys, though they lost star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb for the majority of the game because of an ankle injury suffered during Dallas’ second offensive series.
On Lamb’s first touch of the game, he took a handoff and ran right, but his left leg buckled under Noah Sewell’s legs during the Bears linebacker’s tackle for a 1-yard loss. The play was negated by offsetting penalties.
Lamb returned during the second quarter but wasn’t involved in another play. He was ruled out in the third quarter.
The Cowboys revealed Monday that Lamb sustained a high ankle sprain.
Asked if he missed the challenge of facing Lamb in a highly anticipated matchup, Stevenson flatly replied, “No.”
“Everything happens for a reason,” he said. “He was out. Whether he was in or not, I feel like this defense was going to play hard and attack the ball. We did that.
“We made Dak make the hard throws. Whether (Lamb) was in or not, we were aiming for the ‘W.’”
