Velus Jones Jr. has given it some thought. If he had that one sequence from last week’s loss to the Washington Commanders to do over again, if he had a redo on the punt he muffed inside the Chicago Bears 10-yard line with 8 minutes, 12 seconds remaining, he would have just stayed away.
“I would have let the ball go,” Jones said after practice Friday at Halas Hall. “I felt like I got outside myself. I was trying to make something happen because the game was still so close. But that was a ball that would have been a touchback.
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“At the end of the day, it’s about being smarter and not making wild decisions. When you try to do too much instead of just being yourself, that’s when chaos happens.”
It was a costly mistake. “A devastating blow,” to use Jones’ words.
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When the Bears rookie failed to get his feet underneath him properly and wound up with Tress Way’s punt caroming off his face mask and squirting free for a turnover, it set the Commanders up for their all-too-easy game-winning touchdown late in the game. With a 6-yard drive, the Commanders registered the final points of their 12-7 victory.
That misstep also has now pushed Jones into correction mode, continuing to test his patience as the Bears, at least temporarily, consider other options for their punt returner role.
“For me, you focus on getting better,” Jones said. “Just get better each and every day until it’s my time to go back there again.”
Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower declined to say Friday whether Jones would have a chance to retain punt return duties for Monday night’s road game against the New England Patriots. But Hightower made it clear an in-season competition has become necessary, listing receiver Dante Pettis, defensive back Josh Blackwell and, yes, even safety Eddie Jackson as candidates to jump in.
Rookie running back Trestan Ebner and veteran receiver Nsimba Webster also could be viable options.
At practice, Hightower has had his eyes on finding a trustworthy returner with the Bears using an array of in-house prospects to catch punts Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. One last Week 7 practice is on the itinerary for Saturday afternoon.
“We’ve got to see who stands out the most in that area,” Hightower said. “Obviously at the end of the day, we’re always going to do what’s best for the football team.”
Hightower said the Bears coaching staff did a study recently and found that of the 18 punts that had been mishandled this season leaguewide, one-third were bungled by rookie returners. So Jones is not alone with his growing pains. He is responsible for two lost fumbles — last week against the Commanders and a Week 4 muff late in the fourth quarter against the New York Giants.
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“It’s what happens with rookies,” Hightower said. “They’re going to make mistakes. Just have to keep working, have to keep getting better.”
Hightower emphasized that Jones’ attentiveness in meetings and energy at practice has remained consistent this week, allaying any fears of a mental funk.
“I’m not worried about anything in terms of his confidence,” Hightower said. “But obviously he wants to do a better job for the team. … We’ve got a rookie who has to fail his way to success. That happens sometimes. Guys have to fail their ways to success. And he’s working hard and doing what he needs to do.”
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As it relates to last week’s misstep, though, Hightower stressed that Jones must do a better job judging the football off the foot of the punter and quickly assessing trajectory and hang time. A lot of that will come through experience.
“And,” Hightower said, “you have to get your feet to the spot before the ball comes down and get settled. Anytime you see a returner whose feet are moving as the ball comes down, we call that ‘happy feet.’ His feet want to be settled so he can be underneath (the punt) and either slide left or right or come forward and get it. If a guy’s feet aren’t in position when the ball is coming down, usually you have an issue.”
While supportive of Jones, Bears coaches have stopped well short of locking him in at the punt return role and made it clear a change for Monday is being considered seriously.
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“It’s a case-by-case situation,” Hightower said. “And (it’s a) scenario where you talk about, ‘Hey, is that a mistake we’re willing to let (a guy) work through or is that a mistake that he can’t work through.’ ”
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Jones, meanwhile, understands he has a lot of work to do and said he’s eager to get more practice fielding deeper punts that require him to backpedal.
“I’m good with pretty much anything that’s in front of me,” he said. “But I need to work on when the ball is sailing, getting back in time to get set. It’s about repetition, taking those reps over and over and over until I can get back into those punt return duties.”
Jones asserted Friday that he’s still in a positive head space as he works to improve his game and regain the trust of coaches.
“I’m big on faith,” he said. “I’m big on my process. And I know God didn’t bring me this way for no reason. I truly feel like my best is yet to come. But I’m definitely facing adversity. And I’m definitely going to conquer it.
“I’m going to make a lot of great plays in my years with the Bears. So it’s all about moving forward and using your free time and your off days to make sure you get better.”
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Until further notice, Jones’ improvement efforts might be relegated to the practice fields in Lake Forest.
