Velus Jones Jr. seems to be quickly falling out of favor with the Chicago Bears' coaching staff.
It was only the week prior to the start of the regular season that the Bears' coaches and front office were making the case for why Jones is more valuable to the 2024 team than a future draft pick from an interest team. One week later, Bears' coaches are left to answer for another inexplicable mistake by Jones.
As seen during Sunday's win over the Tennessee Titans, Jones muffed a kickoff that resulted in the ball being booted, by Jones as well, back to the Titans. Jones was benched in favor of DeAndre Carter for return duties and it would seem that will be the case moving forward.
Bears' special teams coordinator Richard Hightower met with reporters on Thursday where he had a harsh reality for the Bears' 2022 draft pick.
Bears ST coordinator Richard Hightower called Velus Jones' Week 1 kickoff return fumble "unacceptable."
— Dan Wiederer (@danwiederer) September 12, 2024
"As a human, I hurt for the kid. I do. But as a coach we have to evaluate all our options. And he knows in the return game, the No. 1 thing is to take care of the football."
Velus Jones Jr. seems to finally be on the nerve of the Bears' coaching staff.
Given Rome Odunze's and Keenan Allen's current injuries, it seems unlikely that the Bears will cut Jones within the next week or two. The Bears simply need all the depth they can get in terms of the offensive skill positions and Jones is included in that mix. However, once Odunze and Allen are fully healthy, Jones is going to be a candidate to be cut.
It's what makes the Bears' experiment with Jones at the running back position an odd point of emphasis for the team. For all the hope that Jones can be a gadget player for the Bears out of the backfield, they have other players on their roster who can make positive plays in the same amount of limited snaps. Bears fans entered the 2024 season knowing that Jones was a liability, and it sounds like the team's coaching staff is finally coming around to that fact as well.