Despite his position switch, Velus Jones Jr. is still listed as a wide receiver on the Chicago Bears? depth chart and roster. He saw four snaps on offense in the Bears? 24-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans in Week 1, logging 12 snaps on special teams.
It was there, in the third phase, that his biggest bugaboo resurfaced.
Bears’ Velus Jones Gets Honest About Muffed Kick in Week 1
Velus Jones in ‘Disbelief’ After Muffed Kick
Jones fumbled his lone kick return. But it only got worse as the play went on, with Jones kicking the ball directly to the Titans, giving them the ball in plus territory with the Bears already trailing.
?I was more like in disbelief because that was like some fluke stuff,? Jones told Clocker Sports on September 13. ?That had never happened. But took everything back to my mechanics; just looking everything in. But, like I said, some fluke stuff. Learn from it and keep going.?
Watch this ball roll. A muffed kick return gives Tennessee the ball back!
?: #TENvsCHI on FOX
?: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/MqmAR44KRx— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2024
?That [fumble] was tough,? Bears running backs coach Chad Morton told Clocker Sports before Thursday?s practice, sharing his message to the third-year pro. ?Just not too worry about it. Just, ?Keep your head up,? you know what I mean? Because I knew he still had to play running back. So it’s like, ?No big deal.? Like, ?You’re fine, good. Just move on to the next one. Can’t dwell on that kind of stuff, you know what I mean? Like, ?Okay, it happened. Good. We’re fine, we’re moving on, you got some good plays coming up so let’s lock in on that. You ready for that??
?He did a great job, outstanding job at running back once he got in. Normally, guys kind of crumble under that. They’re still thinking about it. But he just went out and did well; did exactly what it asked of him and played well.?
Jones had 3 fumbles as a rookie and made it through the 2023 season unscathed, though his catch rate remained below 60%, per Pro Football Reference.
That underscores the significance of his move to running back.
Velus Jones Touts ‘Next Play Mentality’
Jones took his 2 carries for 11 yards. He also got to line up in the slot and caught his lone target for 8 yards, keeping his hybrid label accurate. Still, it was getting back in the backfield that helped Jones move on.
?Everything is a mindset,? Jones said. ?My mentality, how I attacked everything, and just all about next play, bouncing back. And so be able to get back in and running back, that felt good to get some positive gains. Even though it wasn’t too explosive, I felt like it was impactful to be able to get some yards. So I mean it’s ?next play? mentality.?
Asked if Jones had much to say when he returned to the sideline, Morton said he did not. Morton added that it was unnecessary.
Morton also spoke about the importance of keeping players uplifted after they make mistakes.
?He’s always apologetic,? Morton said. ?He’s a great human being, and there was nothing to be said because I knew he felt terrible about it, you know what I mean? So that’s why guys like that, you keep them going, keep them positive, and just get them focused on the next thing so they don’t basically bury themselves.?
Velus Jones, Bears Need Fast Start
The Bears running game was stuck in the mud in the first half. Starter D?Andre Swift had five carries go for 5 yards in the first two quarters. Swift had another five go for 24 yards after the break.
Special teams maven Travis Homer also received a pair of carries, further throwing off the balance of carries and the Bears’ ability to rely on the run game.
Morton called early deficits a ?killer for the run game.?
?Now, you got to play catch-up, so you don’t have time to play the run or slow everything down. So that’s why you got to get off to a good start if you can,? Morton said. ?Obviously, you don’t want to talk about it too much because then if you don’t, now everybody’s in a rut. Now everybody’s like, ?Okay, we didn’t get a fast start, so now we start panicking.? So we just got to do right. And then if we do right, we’ll be fine.?
The Bears will need to get Jones the ball more to justify his roster spot, especially if his being pulled from kick return duties in Week 1 is a long-term solution. It is just another reason Jones and the Bears need to keep the game script positive or neutral.