The Chicago Bears reverted to their old ways in an ugly loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football in front of the national crowd. They fell 30-13 in a game they were never really in. Down 14-0 early, they had to play a useless game of catchup. The lack of talent and adequate coaching on this team was on display once again, and unfortunately, the Tyson Bagent takeover hit a speed bump.
Chicago Bears Week 8 Loser No. 1: Velus Jones
The time has come to either cut Velus Jones or see if you can maybe scrap a seventh-round pick for him. He is not an NFL-caliber wide receiver and what he brings with his speed and ability with the ball in his hands is not enough to take up a roster spot. This was a big miss by the front office of the Bears, especially since there were still good options on the draft board at the time of this selection. Velus Jones has struggled in every position that the team has put him in, and it has cost the Bears in terms of turnovers, missed plays, and him taking up a spot on the 53-man. His outing against the Chargers was a reminder that is time to move on, for both sides at this point.
Jones had one of the worst drops on a wide-open play in the endzone. The ball might have been underthrown a tad, but at that point, he was so open he could have just caught it like a punt or kickoff, not that he does that so well either. He ended up tripping on his own feet and then dropping the sure touchdown ball from Tyson Bagent. The ball came down onto a fallen Jones and hit him right in the chest, but it bounced off and then hit the ground as Jones, players, coaches, and the fans all let out a big sigh of disappointment.
Jones has not had many opportunities, but when given the chance to be a playmaker on the team, especially in the return game, he has failed. A couple of somewhat nice kickoff returns do not warrant having to keep some key players on offense inactive. The Bears had to sign and elevate Trent Taylor to only return punts because they could not trust Jones to be able to field a kick cleanly. The Bears play two receivers who are solely dedicated to kickoff and punt returning each week and forced players like D’Onta Foreman and Equanimeous St. Brown to be inactive.
The Bears missed on this pick, and it is time to cut ties with Jones. Having three active running backs each week or having St. Brown active for his blocking would provide more value than an occasional kick return from Jones, because he clearly is not a receiver for the Bears. Maybe a new team with a different offense can utilize his skills better because he does have elite speed, just not much else.