Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson got personal.
Johnson recently signed a four-year, $76 million deal to return to the Bears, and on Monday, held a press conference to address the contract.
He reflected on personal battles and revealed that he sought therapy for a sex addiction.
“It’s bigger than me,” Johnson said. “One, I’m not the only one going through it. Two, it’s OK to go through stuff. It’s OK to not be perfect. I feel like people put us literally on this pedestal to get up here and talk, ‘Oh, well guys are this, guys are that.’ Man, we’re human too. We go through things. Everybody goes through things. But I feel like people feel like you got to put a mask on, you got to cover it up. No, it’s OK to go through things. It’s OK to seek help. It’s OK to be vulnerable.”
The battle brought him clarity, Johnson said.
“Through my journey with God, it’s like his light shines when you’re in the dark,” Johnson said. “But when you’re trying to be on the pedestal and you’re trying to take all the glory and you’re trying to be something you’re not, that’s when you take away who God really is. You got to go low to really let God’s work shine. That’s when his miracles are done. That’s when his work is done.
“[Therapy] was harder than anything. Everybody talks about playing football games. That’s easy. Just going to see my therapist on off days, I’m like, damn, that’s where I’m uncomfortable. But just throughout the week, just preparing myself mentally, people talking about contracts, I wasn’t worried about that. I was worried about trying to get myself right. For me, it’s bigger than the contracts. Me being who I need to be as a man, who I need to be as a father, as a partner, as a future husband, I mean, that’s more important. That’s something that will last way longer than this podium, way longer than this platform.”
The Bears selected Johnson in the second round (No. 50) in the 2020 NFL Draft, and he’s emerged as one of the NFL’s better corners in his four seasons with the team.
He earned All-Pro Second-Team and Pro Bowl nods last year, recording four interceptions and 10 pass deflections while allowing just a 50.9 passer rating when targeted in coverage.
The Bears originally placed the franchise tag on Johnson, but they agreed on the lucrative new deal just two days later.