Bear Necessities: Chicago holding in-season competition for punt returner role

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In two of the last three games, a muffed punt has cost the Chicago Bears a chance at victory. Even if it wasn’t necessarily the reason why they lost.

Rookie Velus Jones Jr. was been handling punt and kickoff duties since making his debut in Week 4, and he’s been responsible for both of those muffed punts.

“He just wants to do well for his team,” said special teams coordinator Richard Hightower, via ChicagoBears.com. “Obviously, he had a couple struggles. He’s a rookie. All rookies struggle. He struggled a little bit more than he’d probably like – more than anybody would like. But I think he’ll be fine. He’ll be fine. He was good in meetings. He’s been good. He’s been working extra. I’m not worried about anything in terms of his confidence, but obviously he wants to do a better job for the team.”

Hightower declined to say whether Jones would be returning punts come Monday night against the Patriots. But head coach Matt Eberflus has also shown that he’s someone who’s going to let his young players play through mistakes, ala cornerback Kyler Gordon.

Still, Hightower indicated there’s an in-season competition in play with receiver Dante Pettis, defensive back Josh Blackwell and safety Eddie Jackson as candidates to take over.

“We’ve got to see who stands out the most in that area,” Hightower said, via the Chicago Tribune. “Obviously at the end of the day, we’re always going to do what’s best for the football team.”

We’ll see whether Jones gets another opportunity Monday night against the Patriots and how the Bears handle punt return duties, which might include a rotation.

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