It’s been a rough rookie season for Bears wide receiver Velus Jones Jr., who hasn’t been able to carve out a role for himself on this team.
Jones notably struggled earlier this season returning punts, which included two costly fumbles. But the third-round pick also has failed to see the field much on offense, which has been concerning.
With Chicago down four of its top receivers — Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool, N’Keal Harry and Equanimeous St. Brown — Jones saw more opportunities on offense in Sunday’s loss to the Eagles.
Unfortunately, his performance was marred by a single, familiar mistake.
After the Bears defense forced a three-and-out for the Eagles, Chicago’s offense had an opportunity to take the lead (or come to within one point) on the ensuing series. Jones got the carry but fumbled the ball on Philadelphia’s 40-yard line, and it was recovered by the Eagles.
“I don’t like that,” Eberflus said of Jones’ fumble. “I don’t like it. I don’t like when guys lose the football. It’s not good. Guys have to do a better job securing the ball.
“Again, I’ll look at the tape. But when you’re in traffic, you have to have five points of pressure on the ball and put your (indiscernible) over the other hand. That’s an important piece to it. Like I said, we’ll look at it and see where it is.”
This isn’t Jones’ first fumble of the season. He most notably muffed two punts earlier this season, which resulted in him being a healthy scratch for two games. But Eberflus notes the two situations are like comparing apples to oranges.
“The other two, you have two muffed punts because it’s different, not when you have the ball secured,” Eberflus said. “We’ll look at it. Again, he’s got to stay encouraged. He’s got to keep working and do the right things. I know he can do it right. We’ll coach him to do it that way.”
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