What’s old is new again for Velus Jones Jr., who is apparently practicing with the wide receivers again.
Jones, the first offensive player drafted by Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles in 2022, spent a chunk of time during training camp this summer playing running back. But as the team enters its Week 3 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, Jones was spotted by ESPN reporter Courtney Cronin practicing with DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, DeAndre Carter, and the rest of the team’s wideouts:
As Cronin notes, this is a new development for Velus Jones Jr. — and it is one that I don’t think we should gloss over.
What does it mean that Velus Jones Jr. is practicing with the receivers?
Seeing news that Velus Jones Jr. is working out with wide receivers again made me do a plot-twist head tilt followed by a car꧋toonish stroking of my beardꦅ.
“Hmmm,” I said to myself while sitting on the balcony as I saw while scrolling through Twitter. “What could this mean?”
I don’t want to go overboard and assume that this is a sign of bad news for Keenan Allen’s heel injury. However, it would make sense for the Bears to send VJJ back to the receivers if the team felt it was going to be short-handed in that position room.
Perhaps working out with wideouts means Jones’ time as a running back is over. It is feasible that Offensive Coordinator Shane Waldron would be pleased enough with the quartet of D’Andre Swift, Khalil Herbert, Roschon Johnson, and Travis Homer that Velus Jones wasn’t going to crack that lineup. Heck, Roschon Johnson — a running back by trade — has struggled to carve out a niche in the RBs room. So how would a converted running back go about snagging some playing time? The more I think about it, the more I find myself thinking that it might be easier for Jones to find some snaps as a receiver.
Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus is scheduled to meet with the media on Friday at Halas Hall. I imagine that Velus Jones’ future deployment comes up in conversation. And while I understand Velus isn’t a fan favorite right now after another batch of early-season struggles, this could be a situation where the team is doing whatever it can to extrac💛t whatever value it can from a pꦰlayer with speed and playmaking ability (even if it comes with a high amount of risk). Stay tuned.
