Jaylon Johnson lay motionless on the turf at Ford Field in Detroit on Sept. 14, 2025. The star Chicago Bears cornerback suffered a core muscle injury that would later require serious surgery. But he didn’t panic. He didn’t feel exposed. He didn’t fear being perceived as weak. Eighteen months prior, at his March 2024 press conference after signing a lucrative four-year extension, Jaylon had voluntarily told the world that he’d sought therapy for a sex addiction.

That’s real vulnerability.

Jaylon’s addiction came to a head during and after the 2023 NFL season, when he achieved a career-high four interceptions, including a pick-six, and second-team All-Pro honors. When the pendulum swung in 2025, he was prepared to apply the tools he’d learned through addiction.

Below, Jaylon caught me up on his new habits, shifting sense of self-worth, navigating relentless injury, and healing the emotional repression that prompted his addiction in the first place. — MA

Well, nobody knew at that time, but my now-wife and then-fiancée was pregnant. We have my daughter now. She’s a little over 18 months. She has been the biggest difference-maker. 

Then, of course, tying the knot with the missus. Just taking the right steps, continuing to stay on the path. Continuing to find myself and just really just be more aware of what’s going on in my mind, and then combatting it with the right things.

I’m chasing seeing myself, viewing myself, and treating myself as God sees, treats, and views me, and just going from there. The things that I would do in years past — how would I describe it? I didn’t value myself or see myself the way I do now. 

Yeah, for sure. My dad used to teach me this. It was on a different subject, but it kind of relates. He used to always say, “When you have your hand balled up, you can’t receive anything else.” So, sometimes you need to release and open your hand so you can receive everything else that is coming to you. But if you just hold on to things so tight, you can’t receive anything else. 

When you open your hand and kind of free yourself of being so balled up, you’re able to think more, think deeper, think about other things, focus your mind on other things. But when you’re so balled up and caught up in whatever you’re going through, your mind and your heart can’t receive and venture out. 

I was never able to see myself or see women how I needed to see them, especially my wife. Having my mind clear of that, I can appreciate her more. I can appreciate our relationship and what we’ve built more. I feel like I have more emotional capacity and availability. I’m able to grow more. But, again, it just comes from letting go.

I really feel like what I was going through was more of a coping mechanism. For me, I found the issue was — I don’t want to just say “maturity” because it sounds limiting, but I guess you could say the emotional maturity to go through the emotions. I know for myself, I didn’t go through my emotions as a young man. So, I’m growing in the emotional capacity and maturity I’ve worked to develop. It’s allowed me to have tough conversations better. It’s allowed me to think differently. It’s allowed me to think outside of myself.

My thinking habits, yeah. I focus on what’s in front of me. Before, I would always go back and think about this or that, but now, I’m just trying to keep moving forward and focus on what I already have.

In the offseason, I go on walks. I try to take my daughter on a walk on the majority of mornings. It might be about a mile, maybe two miles, around the neighborhood. We stop at the little gas station to get her some snacks. It gives my mind time to reset and gets my body moving to start the day. 

Other than that, it’s more about using my tools. One is praying. Two is knowing that I didn’t get brought out of what I was going through to go back. It’s mental warfare happening all the time, and using my mental tools to help me win the little battles. 

No, one of my last sessions with her was right before I signed [in March 2024].

I don’t think it was about what she was saying; I think it was what she helped me discover in myself.

I was thinking, This isn’t right. When I felt it go out [against Detroit], I was honestly just thinking, Yeah, season’s probably over. I’ve gotta get surgery. I’ll figure this out next year. 

No. The first injury scared me because it was more painful and out of nowhere. But when you’re pushing through discomfort, and something gives out, it’s not surprising.

I feel like I have a lot of success in life, on and off the field. I tend to have a lot of favor. I think this was a test for me to see if I knew how to react, if I strayed away from my relationship with God, if I went in the tank. 

It wasn’t necessarily about performing; it was more about growing and getting stronger mentally. I haven’t had the game taken away from me like this in a little minute, so I think just growing in that and not making the game my identity. I have plenty of other things that I do outside of football that I still have to show up for. 

Yeah, for sure, because this lasted longer. All of last season, I was fighting it. 

With my first injury, I missed all the camp and the first game of the season. I played the second game and got hurt a quarter and a half, and then had surgery. And then from surgery on, going through the pain, discomfort, trying to play through it, coming back earlier probably than I should have, but at the end of the day, I’m a fighter. 

I had some ups and some downs. But that comes regardless of whether you’re healthy or not. For me, it was just continuing to believe in myself and finding my confidence. That was one thing that definitely left me after the surgery: the confidence that I’m one of the best people in the world to do what I do. 

No. My biggest thing was, How am I going to show up? Because one thing is off, am I gonna let everything else go to shit? That’s what made me go on my fast after surgery. I ended up going on a 10-day fruit-and-water fast, lost 25 pounds, and got closer to God than I’ve ever been in my life.

A spiritual cleanse, you can say. In your walk with Jesus, he calls you to deny your flesh, deny yourself, and grow closer to him. It’s just a part of the relationship. 

I’d never done it because I always made excuses. When I didn’t have any reason to build muscle or build my body a certain way, I was just like, This is the perfect time to do it.

I read the Bible every day while not eating and still cooking for the family. I was just denying that habit — that satisfaction of eating, drinking, having sugars. It’s denying yourself and having self-control. You’ll get in the habit of thinking certain ways or doing certain things, but you realize that’s not building yourself up. 

Physical pain isn’t a big deal. I think I deal with it really well. I’ve had shoulder surgeries. I’ve torn and popped bones and ligaments. By mental pain, I mean second-guessing yourself and doubting what’s on the other side. 

It’s also going from being able to function a certain way to, in an instant, now you can no longer function that way. That takes a toll on you mentally. It’s like, I couldn’t sit down. It was something that you just don’t even think about doing. I’d be like, Man, damn! I can’t just go up the stairs? I can’t just get in and out of bed? 

I’m used to playing the game a certain way. I think it starts to weigh on you when you can’t perform, or you can’t perform how you want to perform — how you know you can perform. That started to weigh on me because, even when I did come back, I was taking numbing shots. I was taking all the pain medications. I was trying to do it all so I could play. You start to second-guess yourself. Those mental battles hurt more than the physical pain.

From when we played Green Bay the first time, my second game back after my surgery, all the way up until the playoff game. I was down bad for five regular-season games. I went into the first game confident, but I was in pain. I was down and out mentally and physically. I had plenty of doubt and plenty of hesitation. 

Yeah, no, not at all. That was something I tried to be open about. People ask me, “Are you 100 percent?” I’d say, “No, I’m far from 100 percent.” Quite honestly, my 70 percent is better than a lot of guys’ 100 percent. My presence out there by itself could make a difference.

The first playoff game is when I played my freest.

The biggest thing with my position is you’ve gotta get in a rhythm. You get hurt, and you don’t have that much time to get reps and get your rhythm. I tried to put in extra time and extra reps without drilling my body into the ground because I still have to play on Sunday.

I would take time before or after practice to do different movements and visualize. When I got into the game, I had my rhythm mentally, and my body was able to follow better. The playoff game is when I just kept talking to myself, like, Man, you’re one of the best to do it. You just got to go out there and do it. 

Just to fight. I’ve always been a fighter, but I would definitely say this was my hardest season in life. Even when I was going through the stuff I was going through [with my addiction], I was having a really good season on the field. But I feel like this past season was probably the craziest, as far as my family goes and as far as football injuries and performance go.

When I chose to go to physical therapy, I would just tell myself I gotta fight. I gotta fight for my family. I gotta fight for peace, who I am, and what I stand for.

Strain and endurance. I think to be sober from anything, you have to strain and focus and be intentional while doing it. It’s not about it being easier or getting over it. I think it’s more so that you learn to push and strain. Once you strain long enough, you get stronger. And you start building your endurance on that strain and holding that strain. 

Yes, for sure. I know that’s what helps me use my tools. When I was younger, it was a lot of silencing, and I would say what felt like restrictions on me as a little kid. Emotional restriction, as far as communicating, and just being mentally tough and doing what men should do. I wasn’t handling my emotions, so I would handle them with other things, of course. 

I think I can navigate my feelings and emotions now. It’s all about facing those emotions. When I’m influenced by certain emotions, how do I navigate my next steps? How should I move based on what I’m feeling? I don’t feel like every emotion has to be talked about or shared because emotions come and go. Even if I’m not handling it outwardly, I handle it internally. 

I’m definitely looking forward to next season. I’m very transparent with myself and others about where I’m at. I’m about to be 27. I’m going on my seventh year. I’ve been with the Bears for seven years. They paid me. I know I can still play the game. So now I know I’m not only playing for the Bears, but I’m also playing for myself.

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