Chicago Bears: An inactive Velus Jones Jr. speaks volumes
Before the Chicago Bears took the field to face the Miami Dolphins on Sunday the team announced that Velus Jones Jr was inactive despite having no injury.
The Chicago Bears took it to the chin on Sunday, losing to the Miami Dolphins 35-32. It was their fifth loss in six games.
Despite the loss, the offense once again flourished. The Bears had 368 yards of total offense and quarterback Justin Fields ran for 178 yards. The rushing yards set the all-time record for most yards in a regular season game by a quarterback.
Despite an offense that improves week after week, there are still deficiencies. One of the biggest troubles lay with the wide receivers.
The receivers have had trouble getting open. One of Fields’ problems is his holding onto the ball too long. That happens when he sees that his receivers cannot create much if any, separation.
That is why it was big news when the Bears announced that rookie receiver Velus Jones Jr. was inactive. No, he didn’t have any injuries to deal with. He was a healthy scratch.
When the Bears drafted Jones in the third round of this year’s draft, they hoped he would help the offense. He has incredible speed that puts pressure on the defense. With his and Darnell Mooney‘s speed, the defense would have to defend the deep ball. That would then open things up underneath for Fields.
However, that has not happened thus far. It’s been rough for him from the start. He missed the first three games of the season due to an injury. In the five games he played since, he’s only had five targets, catching three of them for 24 yards and a touchdown. He added 3 carries for 41 yards on the ground.
Jones was supposed to also help on special teams. That hasn’t happened either. He has five punt returns and averages just 7 yards per return. On kickoff returns, he has six of them and averages 21 yards per return.
Going back to the punt returns, Jones has two huge fumbles. He fumbled those punts without having any pressure on him or getting hit. He just muffed them. Both of those fumbles hurt the Bears.
Late in the game against the New York Giants in Week 4 with Chicago down 20-12, the defense forced a punt. The offense had a chance to attempt to tie the game, or so everyone thought. Jones muffed the punt and there was no comeback attempt.
In Week 6 against the Washington Commanders, the Bears were nursing a 7-6 lead. Again, the defense forced a punt. The offense would get the ball and try to kill the clock. Instead, Jones muffed the punt and Washington recovered the ball. The Commanders then got the go-ahead touchdown that ultimately won the game.
Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles has done a great job of setting up the rebuild. The Bears have the most salary cap space in the NFL and have eight draft picks. By the time the new league year comes, Poles likely acquires more of both.
His pick of Jones might not be one of his better moves. Many draft experts had Jones projected as a fifth-round pick. They felt that Poles overdrafted him in the third round.
Jones spent six seasons in college. He is 25 years old. His age is not necessarily a real concern. What is a concern is that in six seasons in college he didn’t develop much. He doesn’t have a good handle on the route tree. His bread and butter is going deep and hopefully outrunning the defense or catching a short pass and using his athleticism and speed to run away from defenders.
What he has found out, though, is that the defenders in the NFL are speedier than the ones he faced in college. He still needs to learn the route tree and use something other than his speed to get open.
Until Jones learns the intricacies of his position he won’t be of much use to the Chicago Bears. We’ll have to get used to seeing more of Jones and the inactive list. If that happens, he’ll be left behind in the team’s rebuild.