The Chicago Bears didn’t even make it to the second quarter of their 2024 season opener before Velus Jones Jr. made his latest costly mistake for the team.
With 41 seconds left in the first quarter, Jones fielded his first kickoff return of the new season and — much to the dismay of Bears fans — muffed the catch, letting the ball slip through his hands and rocket off his moving foot 20 yards downfield. Tennessee then recovered the ball at the Bears’ 23-yard line, taking a 10-point lead four plays later.
Naturally, Bears fans quickly took to social media to air their grievances over another mistake from Jones, resulting in the phrase “Cut Velus” trending on X.
“Velus Jones needs to be unemployed come Monday,” one fan wrote on X.
“Hey @ChicagoBears, remind me again why we didn’t trade Velus Jones?” Another wrote midgame on X. “He’s been a bust for years. Seriously!”
The Bears did not give Jones another opportunity to return a kick, moving him to the bench and inserting Khalil Herbert as the second returner alongside DeAndre Carter. While the Titans only kicked off to the Bears twice more in the game, Carter took his first return 67 yards upfield. The other kick went over his head for a touchback.
Jones still played several more snaps on offense following his muffed return, but none of his offensive contributions seemed to atone for his turnover-turned-points. Even some of the Bears beat writers have grown disillusioned with the 2022 third-rounder.
“That should be the last snap Velus Jones Jr. ever takes as a Chicago Bear,” DaBearsBlog’s Johnathan Wood wrote on X. “Sooner or later, you run out of chances, and you can’t have a backup/ST guy routinely turning the ball over.”
Matt Eberflus Expresses Support for Velus Jones Jr.
Bears fans might be fed up with Jones’ recurring mistakes on special teams, but head coach Matt Eberflus didn’t echo their sentiments in the postgame of their 24-17 win.
“Yeah, I was proud of Velus Jones, I really was,” Eberflus said Sunday when asked if the Bears would give Jones more opportunities as a kick returner after his Week 1 mistake.
” I know that’s not what he wanted, obviously, and I thought we responded well on defense and held them to three points in that particular case. But he did a nice job coming in at the halfback position, did a nice job of getting north. I thought he did well there. And we’ll evaluate in terms of kick return as we go.”
Jones did finish with 5.5 yards per carry out of the backfield, but he also only touched the ball twice as a runner with D’Andre Swift receiving the bulk (10) of their 22 carries. While the Bears likely still want to see what Jones can do with more touches, it could get more difficult to justify making him active on game day if he loses his returner job.
Could Bears Leave Velus Jones Jr. Inactive in Week 2?
The Bears are in a frustrating position with Jones coming out of their Week 1 victory. While Eberflus made it clear they believe he can be an asset in the running game, the team must now also re-evaluate his role as their kick returner and determine whether it is better to keep trusting him or replace him with a sure-handed option in Carter.
The problem is that if the Bears decide they can no longer afford to trust Jones on kick returns, they will have a much tougher time justifying giving him one of their 48 game-day roster spots for Sunday Night Football against the Houston Texans in Week 2.
The Bears made running back Roschon Johnson and wide receiver Tyler Scott — their two 2023 fourth-round picks — healthy scratches in favor of Jones in Week 1, but Jones won out primarily due to his return ability. Realistically, Johnson could overtake him in Week 2 if Jones is reduced to purely a running back role. The same goes for Scott, who would add value at receiver if the Bears ask Carter to return both punts and kicks.
Perhaps the Bears will stay the course with Jones, but his value will plummet for their team if they bench him permanently from the kick returner job. And in that case, they may want to pick up the phone and see if any of the trade interest in Jones is still warm, cutting their losses and getting what they can for the former third-round selection.
