Bears put CB Jaylon Johnson on injured reserve

The Bears did the inevitable Saturday, putting their best defensive player on injured reserve.

Cornerback Jaylon Johnson suffered a serious groin injury when he batted away a third-down pass Sunday against the Lions. He said the next day he was grappling with the reality his season was lost. For now, though, the team considers him out indefinitely.

Players put on IR are forced to miss at least four games. Up to eight players per team can return from it each year.

The Cowboys have issues at cornerback, too. After ruling DaRon Bland out Friday, they added cornerback Trevon Diggs to their injury report with a knee injury. He's questionable for Sunday's game at Soldier Field.

Johnson, who was helped off the turf at Ford Field, told WSCR-AM’s “Spiegel and Holmes” on Monday that he was considering his options.

“Now that there’s more damage, how much do you want to push through?” he said. “Even if it does work until November, then it’s pushing surgery back.”

Johnson missed all of training camp after tearing the adductor muscle off his pelvic bone while working out at UNLV. That was on a different part of the groin muscle than Sunday’s injury.

Cornerback Dallis Flowers was elevated from the practice squad for Sunday’s game. He’s played in 23 career games for the Colts and Buccaneers and will help a position group decimated by injuries. Slot cornerback Kyler Gordon will miss his third-straight game and special teams ace Jaylon Jones is out against the Cowboys. Both have hamstring injuries.

For a defense that's already allowed seven touchdown passes, the attrition is alarming.

“We've been working without [Johnson] for most of training camp,” defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said this week. “We didn't have him in the first game. ... When you lose a player of that caliber it's a big hindrance to your football team. So you've got to readjust how you operate.”

Tackle Kiran Amegadjie, a third-round pick a year ago who was a healthy scratch in each of the first two games, was also put on IR Saturday with an elbow injury suffered Wednesday. Amegadjie, who was spotted with a bulky brace this week, started one game as a rookie and appeared in five more.

The Bears also promoted defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon to the active roster after bringing him up from the practice squad to play the last two Sundays. They also called up practice squad linebacker Carl Jones Jr.