Bears CB Jaylon Johnson grateful for Aaron Rodgers' endorsement

Although Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson recorded just two tackles in Sunday’s 28-19 loss to Green Bay, he still earned the admiration of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

The four-time NFL MVP called Johnson a “premier player” during his postgame media availability at Soldier Field, offering further validation of what the third-year cornerback has believed all along: that he’s among the best at his position.

“Being on a losing team, people look down on everything you do individually,” Johnson said, via the Chicago Sun-Times. “It’ like, ‘Oh, the Bears are a [s---]-show. The Bears are this. The Bears are that.’ It’s hard to gain popularity votes when there’s so much negativity from the outside.

“…I play the game with a lot of pride and respect. Getting interceptions isn’t the only way to impact the game [or] get respect. Your peers validate you. Not the media. …To me it’s not about popularity. It’s about what my peers believe of me — my team, the quarterbacks and people on the offensive side that I play against.”