Tag: Velus Jones Jr.

Bears found these prospects at the Senior Bowl in 2022

We’re taking a look at the four prospects the Bears drafted that participated in the Senior Bowl last year:

The Senior Bowl kicks off this week, which marks the unofficial start to draft season, where NFL teams will get a glimpse at some of the nation’s top prospects.

General manager Ryan Poles and people from his personnel department will be in Mobile, Ala., to take in practices and get to meet with prospects, according to Larry Mayer.

But this year, Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy is serving as the head coach of the American team. So he’ll get an even better look at these prospects.

Let’s take a look back at the four prospects the Bears drafted that participated in the Senior Bowl last year:

Bears 2022 STs review: Cairo Santos takes step back

We close out our Bears position series by looking at the special teams players, who took a collective step back last season.

The Chicago Bears wrapped the 2022 season with a 3-14 record, which culminated in a 10-game losing streak. But there’s still reasons to be optimistic about the future, including a boatload of salary cap space, the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft and the emergence of quarterback Justin Fields.

Here at Bears Wire, we’re going position by position through the 2022 Bears and grading every player. We close out the position series by looking at the special teams players, who took a collective step back last season.

Bears 2022 WR review: New faces fail to make a difference

Our next Bears position review focuses on the wide receivers, a group that featured many new players who disappointed as a whole.

The Chicago Bears wrapped the 2022 season with a 3-14 record, which culminated in a 10-game losing streak. But there’s still reasons to be optimistic about the future, including a boatload of salary cap space, the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft and the emergence of quarterback Justin Fields.

Here at Bears Wire, we’re going position by position through the 2022 Bears and grading every player. After looking at quarterbacks and running backs, we’re staying on offense with the wide receivers, a group that featured many new faces but disappointed as a whole in 2022.

The best play from every Bears game during the 2022 season

Look back at the best play from every single Bears game during the 2022 season.

The NFL playoffs have officially gotten underway this past weekend, meaning it’s the first weekend without Chicago Bears football in quite awhile. The Bears were very much left out of the playoff conversation, instead going the complete opposite direction by having the worst record in football and securing the top overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.

While it wasn’t a pretty season in the standings, the Bears had plenty of highlight moments throughout the season. Whether it was a clutch run by Justin Fields or a key defensive takeaway, each game had something to celebrate. We narrowed down the best play from each game of the Bears’ 2022 season.

3 takeaways from the Bears’ Week 18 loss to the Vikings

The Bears lost their 624th game of all time and it might be the biggest one in team history. Here are our takeaways from Bears vs. Vikings.

The 2022 regular season has mercifully come to an end for the Chicago Bears, and it featured one more loss that had significant ramifications. The Bears fell 29-13 to the Minnesota Vikings, losing their 10th game in a row. But this loss, coupled with a win by the Houston Texans, gave the Bears the top selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.

As far as the actual game goes, the Bears pulled out all the stops to ensure they wouldn’t win. Justin Fields was out due to a hip injury, so head coach Matt Eberflus rolled with two quarterbacks. Nathan Peterman got the start and Tim Boyle shuffled in throughout the day. Neither was particularly effective, but it didn’t matter as the defense was carved up by the Vikings starters before they exited the game to rest up for the postseason.

With the final loss of the season, the Bears finish 3-14 but have numerous possibilities that await this offseason. Here are our takeaways from Sunday’s game.

Bears vs. Vikings: Everything we know about Chicago’s Week 18 loss

The Bears closed out the 2022 season with a 29-13 loss to the Vikings, Chicago’s 10th straight. But they did land the No. 1 pick.

The Chicago Bears were defeated by the Minnesota Vikings, 29-13, finishing their 2022 season 3-14. This is arguably the team’s worst season in franchise history, with this being the first time they’ve ever lost 14 games.

But the good news is the Bears will be picking first overall in the 2023 NFL draft, thanks to a Houston Texans win. It’ll be the first time Chicago selects No. 1 overall since 1947.

The 2022 season was a challenging season for the Bears. The positive was the progression of quarterback Justin Fields. He grew a lot from Week 1 to his final start in Week 17.

This is an obvious rebuild, with defensive stars Khalil Mack, Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn all being traded over the last 10 months. This was one of the worst defensive showings out of a Bears team since the Marc Trestman era. But that was to be expected during a rebuild where the roster was torn down.

Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles have a lot of work to do to fix this defense. They also have work to do to add weapons around Fields on offense. Before they do that, let’s take a look at everything we know about Chicago’s Week 18 loss to the Vikings.

What the Bears’ receivers group looks like heading into 2023 offseason

What does the Bears’ receiver situation look like heading into the 2023 offseason? Here’s a look:

Bears general manager Ryan Poles has a lot of work to do this offseason, which includes building around quarterback Justin Fields. Wide receiver is a huge need, and it’s a position that’s surely going to be addressed in free agency and the NFL draft.

Chicago made a move before Sunday’s season finale, signing receiver Equanimeous St. Brown to a one-year contract extension. The Bears certainly appear to appreciate St. Brown’s understanding of the offense and his ability as a blocker and depth piece. He’s the fourth receiver currently under contract heading into 2023.

But what does the receiver situation look like heading into the 2023 offseason? We’re taking a look here:

Bear Necessities: Velus Jones Jr. looking to close rookie season out on high note

Bears WR Velus Jones Jr. wants to end his rookie season on a high note by being “the person that they drafted.”

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Bears rookie Velus Jones Jr.’s rookie season has gone from nightmarish to encouraging over the last few weeks.

Jones said that his slow start this year was due to a hamstring injury suffered in the preseason.

“What really held me back in the beginning was my hamstring injury,” he said, via NBC Sports Chicago. “It was carrying on into the season and stuff. I feel like that was what held me back. Do I know the playbook better now? For sure I do. But I feel like it was more of my hamstring that held me back more than anything.”

For most of the season, Jones was struggling to carve out a role for himself on offense. And he struggled on special teams when it came to fielding punts, including two costly muffs.

But these last few weeks have proven to be impactful, as Jones’ future went from murky to encouraging.

“I feel like I’ve been upward with my production, practice habits and stuff like that,” Jones said. “Everything is trending in the right direction. Just continue to be me. Just stay mentally focused and locked in. And everything else will take care of itself. Just keep putting in extra work.”

As the Bears prepare for their regular season finale, Jones is looking to close his rookie year out on a high note. He wants to live up to his third-round billing.

“I would like to be the best version of myself, no matter how many snaps, how many kickoff returns I get,” Jones Jr. said. “Be the person that they drafted.”

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Studs and (mostly) duds from Bears’ Week 17 loss vs. Lions

From Justin Fields to Chicago’s defense, we’re taking a look at the studs and duds in the Bears’ Week 17 blowout loss against the Lions.

The Chicago Bears (3-13) were blown out 41-10 by the Detroit Lions (8-8), which marked their ninth straight defeat of the season. It’s the longest losing streak in franchise history.

It was an ugly afternoon for the Bears, who scored their only points in the first quarter and were outscored 34-0 in the final three quarters. For the first time during this losing streak, the lack of effort was evident in Matt Eberflus’ group, and you have to wonder if the losing streak is finally getting to them.

There were no shortage of standout performances — mostly bad — in this loss. Here’s a look at our studs and duds from the Bears’ loss to the Lions.

Bears rookie Velus Jones makes statement with impressive outing vs. Bills

In a season where Bears rookie Velus Jones has dealt with a ton of adversity, he stepped up in Saturday’s loss to the Bills.

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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