Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson is slated to hit free agency this March, but it doesn’t look like he will get very far.

Bears general manager Ryan Poles spoke Johnson this week, saying that he absolutely expects him to remain in Chicago for the future.

“Jaylon’s not going to go anywhere and we’ll work through it to get something done,” Poles said, via Alex Shapiro of NBC Sports Chicago. “The big thing was just kind of take a break here after the season and then we’ll start talks again. I feel really good about that situation.”

Johnson himself said earlier this week that he prefers to remain with the Bears, so it looks like the feeling is mutual on both sides.

It also represents a pretty stark change from several months ago.

Back in October, it was widely assumed that Chicago would move Johnson prior to the NFL trade deadline. The Bears were one of the league’s worst teams at the time, and Johnson even requested to be dealt.

However, Chicago ultimately held on to Johnson, who would then go on to say that he was not interested in discussing a long-term contract extension with the club.

Perhaps the Bears’ strong second half of the season has persuaded the 24-year-old to stay.

After starting off 0-4, Chicago went a respectable 7-6 the rest of the way, and Johnson earned his first Pro Bowl selection in the process after registering 36 tackles, four interceptions, a forced fumble, 10 passes defended and a defensive touchdown.

The Bears will have a ton of cap space to work with this offseason, so they should certainly be able to afford to re-sign Johnson.

Chicago originally took Jaylon Johnson in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

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