FRISCO – Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson is now firmly on the trade back as the Tuesday NFL deadline approaches, as contract negotiations in Chicago have reportedly broken down … leading to Johnson having been given permission to seek a trade, according to multiple reports.
Is this where the Dallas Cowboys enter the picture in earnest? Sources have detailed to CowboysSI.com the Cowboys’ desire to bolster their defense in a deal that makes fiscal sense. Meanwhile, the Cowboys have been featured on the short list of teams that “have interest” in the the 24-year-old Johnson, a second-round pick in 2020 who is in the final year of his rookie contract.
Are there some puzzle pieces that fit? Indeed, and there are more … It has been suggested to CowboysSI.com that Dallas might be wishing to do something unorthodox in a trade due to its future cap commitments to the likes of Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb.
Conventionally, in a trade for a player like Johnson, his new team not only gives the present employer compensation in value (picks and or player), but also gives the trade target a new contract. What if instead Dallas – recognizing how Johnson and the Bears have been far apart in negotiations on an extension – simply acknowledge that gap, don’t bother closing it, and trade for Johnson as a “rental”?
Just as right now the Bears think he’s going to leave in free agency in March, meaning maybe they want a blockbuster package for him now, Dallas can recognize that Johnson (presently making $3 million) is worth $20 million APY (or whatever he might be asking) and that he can go chase that on the open market … next spring.
The potential compensatory pick that Dallas would get would ease the long-term pain of losing him. (As would the 2024 return from season-ending injury of Trevon Diggs.) But the immediate reward for employing him now? He’d man one boundary and Stephon Gilmore the other, with DaRon Bland moving back into the slot … and Dallas’ “Doomsday” defense would be one step closer to the ultimate goal.
