3 Bears Veterans Who Will Be Cut Following the NFL Draft
3. Velus Jones Jr., WR
It's time for GM Poles to declare that the Velus Jones Jr. experiment is officially a bust. After all, Jones, a third-round selection in 2021, fails to look like an NFL wide receiver more often than not.
After a putrid rookie campaign, the former USC/Tennessee product followed it up with an even worse encore in 2023, hauling in just four targets for 20 yards while turning eight carries into 51 more yards across 14 games. He also had an abysmal 62.2 passer rating when targeted, which is even worse when you realize that mark would've been ninth-worst among 59 quarterbacks last year.
Williams certainly doesn't need a WR as bad as Jones to succeed. In addition to Odunze's incoming presence, the Bears still have DJ Moore returning on top of acquiring Keenan Allen from the Los Angeles Chargers earlier this offseason. That's without mentioning how players like Tyler Scott, Dante Pettis, and Nsimba Webster will all be hungry to climb up the depth chart.
Chicago can also save $918,552 by cutting Jones before June 1 or over $1.1 million if it waits until after that date, per Spotrac. Considering how awful the 27-year-old has been as a pro, it might just make the most sense for the Bears to cut their losses and move on from the struggling wideout.
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