Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - What can the Bears expect from cornerback Jaylon Johnson this season?

Episode Date: August 20, 2026

Rahimi Harris and Grody. We are happy to have on Vinny Rotino. Vinny, how are you? I'm doing great. Thanks for having me on. Guys, I tell you, I feel like I made it to the big leagues when I get on the score and get on your show. I appreciate you guys having me. Middays 10 to 2 on 104-3, the score.

I'm just trying to prove to myself. I mean, everybody was going to have something to say when I was healthy and playing, it was still doubtful. So, I mean, it's not like doubt's not going to creep in at any given point. But I think for myself, it's just going out there. and being who I proved myself to be in this league. I mean, I've been all pro. I've been pro bowl.

So, I mean, for me, it's just getting back to that level in Calgary of play. I mean, even going up from there, I know I haven't had a season where I've had more than four interceptions. So I think for me it's just keep showing people why I am who I am. And I think more interceptions would do that. I think some more accolades and winning and being a top 10 defense will definitely prove to people that I am who I say I am. That is Jalen Johnson when he was on first thing.

first. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 104-3, the score. And Jalen Johnson, one of the guys we can't expect to see the Cincinnati Bengals offense in joint practices that are taking place today and also tomorrow in Cincinnati. And in the

meantime, Marshall, I think Jaylon Johnson also is a good indicator of the success of the Bears secondary because he has to be. They're going to have to depend on him more than I think any of us thought initially, given Kyler Gordon's injury and Kobe Bryant's now as well. So you mentioned those two guys

who aren't available. It was Jalen Johnson who started last season unavailable. And even when he did play, he was far from 100%. So I think he sees this, first of all, as a chance to remind people of who he can be. And I'm really curious as to whether or not he

ends up traveling when the regular season starts and maybe guarding the best receiver on a team. But it wouldn't matter against a team like the Bengals because it's like T. Higgins. Jamar Chase. What are you doing? Pick your poison. Either way, you're probably going to die by poison. Look, I love that Jalen Johnson is in the mode of understanding what he needs to be for this team this season. And unfortunately, I wish he wasn't put in that specific position, but also I believe he can handle that load. Yeah, you're going to have to lean on the knowns, right? We're going to find out who Dylan Thineman is. That was the plan. So that is a little bit of a different mindset when it comes to evaluation. But when it comes to the guys who, as he mentioned, you know, he was, he's been named all pro.

You know, he's been a pro bowler. This is a responsibility that he carries greatly. So how does that play out in scenarios like this? Well, Dennis Allen spoke yesterday. This was at Hallis Hall before the Bears headed to Cincinnati. But he did talk about what he wanted to see out of Jalen Johnson and then really kind of got into the Bengals as a whole in these joint practices. Same thing that we've talked about with really all these guys.

I mean, this is a hell of a challenge for all of our. defensive backs to have to go up against, you know, this set of receivers and these skill players. And so, look, I want to see him go out there and compete. And, you know, can we play man coverage against these guys? You know, can we run with these guys? I mean, I'm talking about everybody. I'm not just talking about Jalen specifically. I've seen improvement out of Jalen.

I've seen some flashes that say, man, he's looking, you know, a little bit more like what you expected in to look, you know. And yet there's still a lot of growth. You know, the system that we're in is a lot different than what, you know, he was in before. And so I think we're still growing. We're still learning. But I've seen him take to what we're trying to get done, and I've seen him improve. That sounds like a Dennis Allen who understands it is very much still a work in progress.

but everything he said there was encouraging about what he's seen versus a year ago. Well, and I think he's right. This is the best time to really evaluate your secondary if you're him. There's no better opportunity than against that team where the final score was in the 40s last year and in overtime than trying to figure it out against some of the best, really one of the best receiving rooms in the NFL. That receiving room a little bit better than the one they're going to face next week in Nashville. what you're saying?

What is? Okay, while we're here, not that I'm looking ahead to everything. What is the goal against the Titans? You know, are you just running your own stuff trying to figure out what you want to do?

And maybe the plays intersect and you tackle some people on the other side. Like, that's a really good question. I think the goal is to be dominant and to put your embarrassment wishes to fruition. But yeah,

okay, if you want to dominate the opponent, but it's preseason. it's the last game of it. Wondale Robinson was pretty good last year for the Giants, right? And then Calvin Ridley is... Wondale Robinson had an excellent game against the Bears last year. That's what I'm saying.

So like, if you take that into account, I think there are lessons to be learned taken away from... So you think it's going to be the revenge against Wondale-Robinson game? My point in asking the question later was simply this. You're going to learn more against the Bengals than you could ever hope to learn against most teams in the NFL. Well, I think that's what we're going to learn against most teams in the NFL. why the Bears wanted to do this. I made the jokes about two offensive

junkies getting together, but you're just going to find out. Yeah, that too. You're going to find out a lot about your team. And I think in all of this that's incredibly valid, but this should be, as much as we talk about the offense, this should be defensive evaluation as much as

as anything, because of the quality opponent on the other side, the quality of offense. And in Jalen Johnson, I don't know if it's he goes, they go type of idea. I don't know that I can say that about a guy who plays that far away from the line of scrimmage, but I understand why Dennis Allen sees it that way. It may not be he goes, they go,

but I can certainly tell you this. If he can't go, they can't go. How about that? Yeah, he's a barometer of how successful this is supposed to be. And it's unfortunate because you wish you had more barometers in your, you know, non-front-four. But this is the reality of life without the Kobe Bryant and without the Kyler Gordon

and you know, life without Spider-Man is tough. Just ask anybody who follows Marvel Comics. We also have some reports of practice wrapping up in Cincinnati. This from Kevin Fishbane. Tough finish for the Bears' offense. They went four and out on a two-minute drill. That is not good because I know that's something that is definitely of emphasis in practice. And on their next possession, Miles Murphy's sack put them behind the sticks.

And then Caleb Williams threw an interception. his past to Colston Loveland sailed and landed in Jalen Davis's arms. The tweet I read from Adam Johns said that Caleb Williams was sacked twice by Miles Murphy. And the second one was for a safety. Oh, no, no, not the safety. Oh, yeah, there is. Murphy beat Theo Benedet on both plays. Theo Benedict, though, in the two-minute drill, huh?

That, okay, how about that? How about them apples? I don't know that Theo Bennett will be in the next two-minute drill. But he's at left tackle? Yes, I think Braxton Jones is going to go ahead and say it one more time. Until Ozzie Tripolo is ready to go, and I don't know when or if he'll be ready to go this season based on what we've heard from Ben Johnson. This season, no, I think this season he will be.

That's the hope. But I'm not putting any eggs in a basket until I see him out there full pads doing all the things, is what I'm saying. You know, we just talked about setbacks previously. I just know Braxton Jones is back at practice and allegedly. But if you're running with Theo Benedet in the two-minute drill, what does that tell you? Tells me he got an opportunity and he did not make the most of it. But that's kind of my point is they still chose to have him in that two-minute drill.

So that's notable in all of this. It's notable. It's not good. Well, and I know Joe Tooney, there was an article that came out. I believe it was Jason Leisure who wrote about Joe Tooney. there was a soundbite yesterday from Ben Johnson asking about, you know, who's at left tackled? Because Joe Tunney has to play next to him. And Ben did say, you know, I think something along the lines of like, I think Joe would like to build a rapport with whoever he's supposed to be next to on the line. So Ben understands the inconvenience that it puts

the rest of the line in and doing this. All you have to do is go back to last season those first, what, four games where the offensive line wasn't quite together. Oh, let's listen to it. I think Joe would like some clarity on who he can build a rapport with. It's been a little bit of a revolving door. So he's a pro's pro and he's willing to do everything. But you want five guys playing as one. So, you know, we'll go as long as we need to to figure out who those five are. But at the same time, the sooner we can make that decision,

the sooner they can gel as a unit as well. You saw it last year. It took us through the by week before we really started clicking a little bit as an offensive line. and the running game coming alive the way we wanted it to. So, yeah, I think he's doing a great job right now. The communication is a huge piece of it. With Garrett at center, there's, I don't have a whole lot of concern from the communication piece. And yet, you know, the sooner we can, we can be on the same page without even saying anything, the better off we're going to be.

That's Joe's input at all, like try to get insight from him on who he is working best with. No, no, no, we judge it off the tape. The tape tells us everything we need to be. to know. Tape does tell you everything you need to know. The more they talk about this, the more I just keep putting my left hand in front of my face and understand that he talks about them working together. Like the most important thing on your hand is your thumb.

Guess who's at the far right on that left hand? That would be darn no right. And it's like, I can do stuff without my left pinky, like if it was messed up, but I can't do it as well as I could compare to if I have one of these other fingers or your thumb messed up. That's the way I'm looking at the bear's offensive line as I look at my left hand. Kevin Gosman knows all about it. You know that left tackle still gets paid the most, right?

Not on this team. No, but that's because they don't have one of repute. But you know that left tackle in the league still gets on the offensive line still gets paid the most. I can name some other teams where the left tackle hasn't gotten paid the most too. Look, I'm just telling you... But traditionally, when you're a good left tackle, say it's a good left tackle compared to a good right tackle. The left tackle is getting paid more. I don't see a world where the next left tackle for the Bears that starts, let's say two seasons in a row, gets paid more than the right tackle.

Got that? Yeah, that just makes me not confident in the line then. No, I'm fine. No, if Ben Johnson is that resolute that Darnell Wright is going to be their right tackle from here and forth on, he's going to be all pro and he's going to do all the things. I don't know that it's realistic to say the left tackle is going to be a higher paid and more, a better player than Darnell Wright is. talking about importance. And I'm saying... I'm saying for the Bears specifically,

not NFL wide. I'm just saying the Bears. The Bears, I know I've seen what they can do with a messed up left pinky. They're pretty good. They can still use their hand pretty well. And just like your left hand, you can use it pretty well

with a jacked up left pinky. You start messing with those other fingers. You might not be able to grip quite as well and do the things you need to be able to do. I still need to see Garrett Bradbury and Caleb Williams in a game scenario. Like I wish and need to see how that's going to work together.

Do you honestly think you are going to see that before the regular season, though? No, and that's a problem for me. Like, I need to see those two work and how the cadence goes, how everybody's calling everything. Like, I get that you only had two penalties in the game last week. But that was with Tyson, Baja, and Logan Jones. So I think we need to see how Bradbury and Caleb work together in this. Look, one of my top three questions for Chris Emma coming up at 1 o'clock is going to be, hey, how do we look in the pre-snap and the order of operation with Caleb Williams and Garrett Bradbury?

Because, again, they look at the joint practice in the same vein that they look at a preseason game in 2026, not the same way they would have done maybe five or six years ago. Well, and then there were other issues too. Like Ben Baby, like we said, is reporting for the Bengals pretty consistently right now on Twitter. And they had issues getting the ball with 3.30. Couldn't get two first downs. Joe Burrow had Mike Asicki open on third down, but they couldn't connect to keep the driver. lives.

So it sounds like they're also working on stuff, but they're more wide receiver heavy than tight end heavy in their offensive scheme. I feel like that is true. I look at all the things that they've been able to do going back to the back half and then obviously the playoffs of last season and wonder what's going to be the hardest to not just replicate, but to improve upon them because that's the goal here is to improve, right? And I think while I want to say it all comes down to Caleb Williams, I think you're spot on when you talk about the offensive line specifically and like, hey, if you can't coordinate

in the way you did after that rough start to last season, are you going to be able to run the ball the same way? Are you going to be able to make it look the same and all the different things that you do? So I think the Bradbury stuff that you're talking about and the left tackle are probably way bigger concerns for me right now than like the play of Caleb Williams. Like I believe Caleb Williams will be better than he was last year. But I think as evidence, by Theo Benedict getting beat twice by, you know, Cincinnati defenders not named Trey Hendrickson. They're one pass rusher that they had.

Probably insulting to Cincinnati, but, I mean, he is Trey Hendrickson. Coming up next on Rahimi Harrison Grotie, it's time for halftime. Ray and I are going to detail a little bit further our experience at the Cubs and Sox game yesterday. Crossdown Part 6 had some interesting ambiance to say the least. We'll talk about it next.