LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Bears have opened the 21-day practice window for star cornerback Jaylon Johnson to return off injured reserve, head coach Ben Johnson announced on Friday.

This is a significant development for a banged-up Bears defense looking to get whole before the season’s end.

Jaylon Johnson has been dealing with a groin injury since the offseason, when he injured muscles in that area and his core during private workouts. He missed all of training camp and the preseason but made his season debut in a Week 2 loss to the Detroit Lions.

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He aggravated the issue sprinting back to break up a deep shot from Lions quarterback Jared Goff and did not return.

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He had surgery to repair the injury originally thought to be season-ending. There was hope, however, that he could come back during the 2025 campaign. That has come to fruition, with Jaylon Johnson closer to a return to action as the Bears begin a pivotal stretch run.

The team has three calendar weeks to activate him, though they could bring him back at any point. He’s expected to need significant time to ramp up, considering he must return to football shape and regain strength in his legs after his procedure.

“We’ll see how long it’ll take to get him back in shape,” Ben Johnson said. “But I think he’s in a good spot right now, and I think being out on the grass is going to be a good thing for him.”

Jaylon Johnson has been pushing hard to come back this season. He has been more visible around Halas Hall in recent days and has been working out with the team as he progresses toward a return.

“He wants to be out there with these guys,” Ben Johnson said. “It has not gone, this year has not gone the way he really envisioned it. You come in and it happens during the summer, the initial (injury) and you miss training camp, and then you’re hopeful you’re back to where you were before. And you get hurt in the first game back. I think he really wants to be out there, and so he’s worked his tail off to get to this point. And it’s on us as coaches to put him in a good spot here, going forward, to get him ready to compete here in the rest of the year.”

The Bears have played well defensively despite significant injuries on that side of the ball. Jaylon Johnson has missed all but one game. Kyler Gordon has played twice this season and is on injured reserve with calf and groin injuries, though his IR stint shouldn’t be too long. Middle linebacker T.J. Edwards has missed four games with a hamstring injury that has been aggravated twice now, but he’s also on the mend. Getting those three back and healthy for the stretch run would be huge for the

“We could potentially have some reinforcements coming between when we get T.J. back, when we get Jaylon back, when we get Kyler back,” Ben Johnson said. “Those are three guys going into the season, you had a lot of high hopes for and what they could do. I certainly had a tremendous amount of respect for all three of those guys competing against them the last few years. I’ll be excited when we get all three back on the field together.”