Bears receiver Velus Jones Jr. has experienced his share of adversity during his rookie season, which has been filled with mostly lows as the third-round pick looked to carve out a role for himself.
But these final three games presented an opportunity for Jones to prove that he can be an impact player for Chicago, most notably on offense, where he hasn’t really seen much action.
Jones had his best game of his rookie season in Sunday’s loss to the Bills, where he showcased his ability as a gadget player on offense and his ability to be an impact return specialist.
Jones had his most productive outing on offense all season with two catches for 52 yards, including a 44-yard reception from quarterback Justin Fields. On special teams, Jones averaged 28.3 yards per kickoff return, including a 40-yard return that set Chicago up with great field position.
“It felt good just to help my team out,” Jones said, via ChicagoBears.com. “Those guys were blocking their tails off on the kickoff. They’ve been doing it all year, so without them that wouldn’t be possible. It feels good to help your team any kind of way.”
It was a huge statement by Jones, whose struggles have been notable since his debut in Week 4. Jones struggled on punt returns, including two muffed punts that cost Chicago games. Not to mention, Jones hasn’t carved out a role for himself on offense, and it took injuries to the team’s top three wideouts for him to get opportunities.
So watching Jones’ performance and hearing Bears coach Matt Eberflus praise him, it felt like an important moment in these final stretch of games.
“Was really pleased with Velus today,” Eberflus said. “He did a very nice job on the kick returns and also that really big catch. It was good for him to bounce back from last week and did a really nice job with that.”
Jones has two more weeks to make a strong impression heading into what’s going to be a very important offseason.
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