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Velus Jones Jr. might have done more to hurt his roster case than help it during the Chicago Bears’ preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans, making an all-too-familiar mistake on punt returns that has fans calling for his job.
While Chicago prevailed 23-17, Jones once again became the subject of scrutiny after he made a bad decision on his second punt return opportunity of the game and muffed it to give the ball back to the Titans at the Bears’ own 25-yard line. The punt was short and the ball took a high bounce once it hit the ground, but rather than back off, Jones elected to try to field the ball and was blasted almost as soon as it touched his hands.
Suffice it to say, Bears fans were not pleased to see another mistake from Jones that echoed the same problems he endured as a third-round rookie receiver in 2022.
“Velus Jones is a bust,” one fan tweeted about Jones.
“It’s pretty clear Velus Jones Jr. draft pick was way worse than [the] trade for Claypool,” another fan added. “Jones was easily Poles’ worst move since taking over. Cut this loser.”
Even fans who were mostly happy with how the Bears played in their preseason opener felt like Jones needed to be called out, with another fan writing: “[Two] explosive pass plays to the house on 2 drives. A sack on defense. Couldn’t ask for more from the starters in the 1st preseason game. Also, cut Velus Jones immediately. It’s over. #BearDown.”
“I think I’ve seen enough of Velus Jones,” Jacob Infante of Windy City Gridiron wrote, succinctly describing how most of Bears media Twitter felt about Jones’ muffed punt.
“Not a good look for Velus Jones. #Bears,” tweeted Jarret Payton, the son of legendary Bears running back Walter Payton.
Jones’ Muffed Punt ‘Comes Down to Fundamentals’
Jones is a player the Bears have been eyeing to make a second-year jump for them in 2023, particularly as an option in the return game. He was benched from punt return duties midway through his rookie season after muffing two punts in three games, but the 26-year-old has been working to improve his craft in that area during the offseason. Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower had also noted the improvement from him when they were together for their offseason workout program in the spring.
Unfortunately, a muffed punt in the preseason isn’t going to help. The Bears elected to trot out different returners for the Titans’ final two punts of the day. Fourth-round rookie wide receiver Tyler Scott took the first one for nine yards, while fellow wideout Nsimba Webster fielded the second one and returned it for a team-best 15 yards.
In the end, Jones finished with just one genuine punt return for seven yards.
“With Velus in there muffing that punt, again, it comes down to fundamentals,” Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said in Saturday’s postgame. “It comes down to technique, and we’re going to work on that, getting a read on the flight of the ball, getting ourselves in position early and then getting underneath the football and squeezing the ball down on the catch, so we’ll keep working on that.”
Eberflus Says Jones Got ‘Difficult’ Punts Back-to-Back
Eberflus was clear that Jones’ fundamentals and technique need to be better in future punt-returning efforts, but the Bears’ second-year head coach was more willing to cut him some slack when asked about the specific situations that Jones faced Saturday.
“Those were two short punts,” Eberflus told reporters. “The nose was up, so those come down pretty fast, so he got two of the more difficult ones back-to-back. That’s a good punter, he’s a really good punt, he can boom them, so we were sitting back a little bit because he can bomb them in the part of the field he was in, so he had to come up more than he usually would. Just have to use fundamental technique and read that ball before it gets too high and get underneath it.”
Jones should still get more opportunities to prove himself as a punt returner for the Bears in their remaining two preseason games, but he will need to work even harder now to wipe off the stink of his most recent mistake. Scott could push him for reps in future weeks if he continues to show promise as a returner; although, he fumbled one of his receptions away on Saturday and could still use some work on his hands.
The Bears also have veteran wide receiver Dante Pettis in the mix as a returner. He did not dress against the Titans on Saturday, having only just come off the non-football injury list on Wednesday, August 9, but he handled the punt returner job for a portion of the 2022 season and could challenge for the role again once he’s back at full speed.
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