Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson earns second-team all-pro

Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson has achieved the milestone that he has been so vocal about wanting.

On Friday, the Associated Press named Johnson a second-team all-pro cornerback. Johnson had previously already earned a spot at the Pro Bowl.

Johnson is the only AP All-Pro from the Bears on either first or second team this season. First-team cornerback honors went to the Cowboys’ DaRon Bland and the Jets’ Sauce Gardner. Kansas City’s Trent McDuffie earned first-team honors at slot cornerback.

Johnson and San Francisco’s Charvarius Ward earned second-team honors as outside cornerbacks.

All-pro honors and the AP NFL MVP award are voted on by a panel of 50 members of the media from across the country.

This was Johnson’s first time earning all-pro honors. He is set to become a free agent in March. The Bears and Johnson tried to work out a long-term contact extension before the trade deadline in October but were unable to. At that point the Bears allowed Johnson to seek a trade. No deal ultimately emerged and Johnson played out the remainder of the season with the Bears.

Johnson had four interceptions this season, including one returned for a touchdown. He’s widely considered one of the best coverage cornerbacks in the game, even if his interception numbers prior to this season (only one in three previous seasons) were low.

He would almost certainly be the best cornerback on the free-agent market if he gets there. The Bears, though, could use the franchise tag on him if they can’t agree to a contract extension between now and late February.

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