A former Bears draft bust gets a second chance, elevated to the Super Bowl roster with the Seahawks. Will he silence critics?
The Chicago Bears aren't in the Super Bowl, but that doesn't mean that they don't have former players in the big game.
Super Bowl LX will feature the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots in a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX.
That game was when the Seahawks were at the goal line and had time for just one more play, but decided not to hand the ball off to Marshawn Lynch. Instead, Pete Carroll drew up a pass play, and Russell Wilson threw an interception to Malcolm Butler to secure a 28-24 Patriots' win.
On Saturday, the Seahawks began making roster moves ahead of the showdown. Seattle elevated running back Cam Akers and Velus Jones Jr. from the practice squad, via ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The Seahawks had a mostly clean final injury report before the game.
Jones is familiar with Chicago after being drafted by the Bears in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Tennessee. He has mainly been used as a return specialist since entering the league.
The majority of his returns are on kickoffs.
He was in Chicago from 2022-24, and had his fair share of issues. In the 2024 season opener against the Tennessee Titans, he muffed the opening kickoff. Jones then kicked the ball right to the Titans' special teams.
Bears fans don't have a lot of love for Jones.
He mocked the Bears on X after they lost to the Los Angeles 31-27. Fans let him have it, with multiple people posting the clip of him muffing the kick versus the Titans.
Other fans reminded him that he was one of the worst draft busts in Bears' franchise history.
Jones would get cut by the Bears on Oct. 25 of that season. He joined the practice squads of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers in 2024.
Jones then signed with the New Orleans Saints in March of 2025. He was waived on Oct. 7 and re-signed to the Saints' practice squad before joining the Seahawks on Oct. 29.
The Bears reject is now getting to play in the Super Bowl in an odd twist of fate.
The game will be played at Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers. It will be the second time that the venue has hosted a Super Bowl since 2015, when the Denver Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers 24-10 in Super Bowl 50.
It's safe to say that there's one player Chicago won't be rooting for. Kick off is set for 5:30 p.m. CT on NBC and Peacock.