A Chicago Bears assistant coach finally came out and said what all fans are thinking regarding wide receiver Velus Jones’ play right now. Jones has been a liability on most snaps he’s been on the field for.
Jones made a costly error against the New Orleans Saints in Week 10. Jones committed a facemask penalty in the fourth quarter that gave the ball to Derek Carr and the Saints offense at the Bears 36-yard line.
A Chicago Bears coach calls penalty “unacceptable”
According to Courtney Cronin with ESPN, special teams coach Richard Hightower said the penalty was “unacceptable“:
“We have a penalty, which is a bad penalty 20 yards away from the play. Which then moves the ball 15 yards close to right outside field goal (range). So our defense held, and Kyler, as we talked about earlier, forced a missed kick from their kicker.
But that is unacceptable. It’s an unacceptable penalty. And why?
Because we pride ourselves on situational football, and in that situation, we could have had the ball at the 50-yard line against an outstanding punt returner. And that was a beautiful punt by Trent and beautiful coverage.”
Richard Hightower called Velus Jones' face mask penalty on a punt return in the 4th Q that gave the Saints the ball at Chicago's 36 yard line "unacceptable."
Hightower: "…We have a penalty, which is a bad penalty 20 yards away from the play. Which then moves the ball 15 yards…
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) November 7, 2023
This is another mistake in a series of unacceptable plays for Jones. Jones had to defend a missed opportunity for a touchdown he dropped just the week before against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Will the Chicago Bears cut Velus Jones?
But Jones is still on the team, so the team is still accepting his play for the time being. We’ll see if the Bears decide to make a change to the roster this week.
The Bears have needed depth at wide receiver because of general manager Ryan Poles’ other wide receiver mistake–the Chase Claypool fiasco. Jones, who had been a healthy scratch early on in the regular season, needed to be active on game day after Equanimeous St. Brown went on injured reserve for a hamstring injury.
The Bears designated St. Brown for return Tuesday.
#Bears roster moves:
We have designated DB Josh Blackwell, RB Khalil Herbert and WR Equanimeous St. Brown for return from Injured Reserve.— Bears Communications (@BearsPR) November 6, 2023
The Bears could afford to cut Jones once St. Brown is activated to the 53-man roster. If Jones’ play is still unacceptable in the middle of year two, there’s no reason to keep him on the roster for the rest of the season.
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