Chicago Bears end hopeless experiment with Velus Jones Jr.

The Chicago Bears have officially closed the chapter on one of their more disappointing draft selections in recent memory.

Ahead of their Week 8 game against the Washington Commanders, the Bears announced that they waived Velus Jones Jr. in addition to releasing fullback Khari Blasingame.

The Bears' release of Jone two weeks before the NFL Trade Deadline speaks to the colossal mistake general manager Ryan Poles made with the 2022 NFL Draft. Jones was drafted in the third round, with the impression being that the Bears were finally giving Justin Fields a wide receiver. The issue with that impression is a quick glance at Jones' college tap proved that his ceiling in the NFL would be as a gadget player who could thrive in a return specialist role. Where that became problematic for the Bears is that Jones struggled when given an opportunity on offense and his tendency to put the ball on the ground during kickoffs made him unusable on special teams.

Jones hasn't been active for the Bears this season since muffing a kickoff during the team's Week 1 victory against the Tennessee Titans. Given that fact, it seemed unlikely that the Bears were going to find a trade partner for the 2022 draft dud.

But, we must rewind the tape back to the preseason. Poles puffed out his chest during an episode of Hard Knocks when he rebuffed an effort from an unknown team interested in trading for Jones. "He's alive" was the viral moment from the episode and now it should be used to mock Poles and his inability to see the writing on the wall with his handpicked mistakes.

In terms of Blasingame, his release was only a matter of time considering that Shane Waldron's offense doesn't utilize a fullback.

With the roster moves on Friday, it seems likely that Larry Borom and Travis Homer will be activated from IR ahead of Sunday's game.