Velus Jones Jr. was a failure in Chicago, but a late-season practice squad elevation in Seattle now gives him a Super Bowl ring.
It’s safe to say the relationship between the Chicago Bears and former wide receiver-turned-running back Velus Jones Jr. isn’t particularly strong.
The Bears drafted Jones in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of the University of Tennessee. From the moment the pick was made, it raised eyebrows.
Jones was an old draft pick. He played six years of college football, including four years at USC before transferring to Tennessee for his final two seasons. Even then, he had only one truly productive year as a wide receiver. In his sixth college season, Jones posted 807 receiving yards and seven touchdowns for the Volunteers.
In the five years before that, he totaled just 627 receiving yards combined.
That’s why the selection always felt peculiar from GM Ryan Poles. Not because the Bears didn’t need a wide receiver — that part made sense — but because Jones had largely been a career special teamer at the college level.
Using the 71st overall pick on a return specialist felt like an extreme overdraft, especially when wide receivers such as Romeo Doubs, Khalil Shakir, and Jalen Nailor were selected later.
Meanwhile, the Bears got just 165 career receiving yards from Jones before eventually cutting him during the 2024 season.
And it wasn’t simply that Jones failed as a wide receiver. It was that he couldn’t even get special teams right. Chicago experimented with a move to running back before the 2024 season, keeping him on the roster in hopes he could still impact the return game while adjusting to a new role.
Instead, the mistakes kept coming.
Jones muffed a punt against Washington in 2022, then muffed a kickoff in the 2024 season opener against the Titans. Everything he touched seemed to turn into a disaster.
To make matters worse, Jones later took shots at the Bears organization after being let go. He appeared in two games with the Carolina Panthers after his release in 2024, then opened the 2025 season with the New Orleans Saints before being waived in October and signing to the Seattle Seahawks’ practice squad.
Jones was elevated a few times down the stretch, appearing in three regular-season games for Seattle. He played just seven offensive snaps.
You’d think that would inspire some humility. Instead, after the Bears were eliminated from the playoffs in overtime by the Los Angeles Rams, Jones took to social media to mock Chicago.
It was an odd flex, considering he had become little more than a bench warmer with his fourth NFL team.
Jones was then elevated by the Seahawks for Super Bowl LX. He made one play on special teams, downing a kickoff inside the five, and — just like that — he became a Super Bowl champion as Seattle dominated the Patriots.
I don’t have anything against the Seahawks, but I can’t say I was rooting for Jones. Especially after the unnecessary jab at the Bears. I’m guessing most Bears fans feel the same way.
So who really got the last laugh?
Yes, Jones now owns a Super Bowl ring. But it took being an outright failure with three different organizations for him to stumble into success in Seattle. And it’s not as if he has a long-term future there. He may not even be in the league next season.
Most players would gladly trade an accidental Super Bowl cameo for a long, successful career with the team that drafted them.
Jones has said that getting cut by the Bears helped his career. But considering he’s touched the ball just 16 times across three teams since then, that’s a hard sell.