Velus Jones Jr.

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Not to be confused with Volus Jones.

Velus Jones Jr.
No. 38 – Jacksonville Jaguars
Position:Running back / Return specialist
Personal information
Born: (1997-05-11) May 11, 1997 (age 27)
Mobile, Alabama, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school:Saraland
(Saraland, Alabama)
College:
NFL draft:2022 / round: 3 / pick: 71
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Practice squad
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 5, 2024
Receptions:12
Receiving yards:135
Receiving touchdowns:1
Rushing yards:165
Rushing touchdowns:1
Return yards:1,077
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Velus Tyler Phillip Jones Jr. (born May 11, 1997) is an American professional football running back and return specialist for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC before transferring to Tennessee.

Early life

[edit]

Jones was born in Mobile, Alabama and lived there until his family moved to Saraland, Alabama when he was eight years old.[1] He attended Saraland High School and was named first team All-State as a junior after catching 51 passes for 1,118 yards and nine touchdowns.[2] Jones repeated as a first team All-State selection as a senior.[3] Jones was rated a four-star recruit and committed to play college football at USC. He later de-committed and then briefly committed to play at Oklahoma before re-committing to play at USC.[4] He is of Dutch descent.[5]

College career

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Jones began his college career at USC and redshirted his true freshman season.[6] He served as the Trojans' primary kick returner in his redshirt freshman season and gained 760 yards on 31 returns. As a redshirt sophomore, Jones caught 24 passes for 266 yards with one touchdown, returned 21 kickoffs for 483 yards, and also rushed for a touchdown.[7][8] He returned 29 kickoffs for 704 yards and one touchdown during his redshirt junior season and was named to the second team All-Pac-12 Conference.[9] After the season, Jones announced his intention to transfer from USC and ultimately committed to play at Tennessee.[10]

Jones joined the Tennessee Volunteers as a graduate transfer, and was eligible to play for the team immediately.[11] In his first season with the team he caught 22 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns and led the Southeastern Conference (SEC) with 398 kickoff return yards.[12] Jones decided to utilize the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes who played in the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic and return to Tennessee.[13] He finished the 2021 season with 62 receptions for 807 yards and seven touchdowns and was named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year after returning 24 kickoffs for 628 yards and one touchdown and 18 punts for 272 yards.[14]

Statistics

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Season Games Started Rushing Receiving Kick returning Punt returning
Att Yds Avg TD Rec Yds Avg TD Att Yds Avg TD Ret Yds Avg TD
USC Trojans
2016 1 0 0 0 — — 0 0 0 — — 0 0 0 — — 0 0 0 — — 0
2017 13 0 5 15 3.0 0 0 6 46 7.7 0 0 31 760 24.5 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2018 11 4 6 13 2.2 0 1 24 266 11.1 0 1 21 483 23.0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2019 11 2 0 0 — — 0 6 35 5.8 0 0 29 704 24.3 0 1 0 0 — — 0
Tennessee Volunteers
2020 10 6 3 16 5.3 0 0 22 280 12.7 0 3 18 398 22.1 0 0 0 0 — — 0
2021 13 9 1 15 15.0 0 0 62 807 13.0 0 7 23 628 27.3 0 1 18 272 15.1 0 0
Career 59 21 15 59 3.9 0 1 120 1,434 12.0 0 11 122 2,973 24.4 0 2 18 272 15.1 0 0

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 11+3⁄4 in
(1.82 m) 		204 lb
(93 kg) 		30+7⁄8 in
(0.78 m) 		9+3⁄4 in
(0.25 m)		 4.31 s 1.50 s 2.50 s 4.51 s 7.32 s 33.0 in
(0.84 m)		 10 ft 1 in
(3.07 m)		 18 reps
Sources:[15][16]

Chicago Bears

[edit]

Jones was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the third round with the 71st pick of the 2022 NFL draft.[17] He signed a four-year contract with the Bears on May 17, 2022.[18] Jones did not play in the first three weeks of the 2022 season for the Bears due to a hamstring injury.[19] Jones made his NFL debut in Week 4 against the New York Giants on special teams.[20] With the Bears down 20–12 with 2:14 left in the game, Jones muffed a punt on the Bears' own 34 yard line that was recovered by the Giants.[19] Jones scored his first career touchdown on his first career reception in a 29–22 loss to the Minnesota Vikings during Week 5.[19] In Week 6 against the Washington Commanders on Thursday Night Football, Jones muffed his second punt of the season, which was recovered by the Commanders on the Bears 6-yard line. This led to the Commanders' only touchdown of the game, and Bears would go on to lose 12–7.[21] As a rookie, Jones played in 12 games and started two.[22] He led the team in kickoff returns and kickoff return yards.[23]

In the 2023 season, Jones appeared in 14 games. He continued to lead the team in kickoff returns and kickoff return yards with a small role in the offense.[24][25]

On August 6, 2024, the Bears announced that Jones would be transitioning into a running back.[26] The team's coaching staff was hopeful that Jones' new role on the team would reinvigorate his career, with Bears general manager Ryan Poles even rejecting a trade offer for Jones in the preseason.[27] During the Bears' season opener against the Tennessee Titans, Jones bobbled a kickoff and inadvertently kicked it towards the opposing kickoff team.[28] He was a healthy scratch for the Bears next five games and was released on October 25. Jones concluded his three-season tenure in Chicago with only 12 catches for 135 yards and 19 rushing attempts for 165 yards.[29]

Jacksonville Jaguars

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On October 29, 2024, Jones was signed to the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad.[30]

References

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  1. ^ Inabinett, Mark (February 4, 2022). "Saraland celebrates on Velus Jones Jr. Day". AL.com. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  2. ^ Thomas, Ben (January 22, 2016). "Saraland WR Velus Jones flips commitment from USC to Oklahoma". AL.com. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  3. ^ Hicks, Tommy (July 28, 2021). "Velus Jones Q&A: Ex-Saraland star ready for season". Lagniappe. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  4. ^ Kersey, Jason (January 23, 2016). "Oklahoma football: Four-star wide receiver Velus Jones flips commitment back to USC". Oklahoman. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  5. ^ Mayer, Larry (October 29, 2023). "Bears players participating in NFL Heritage Program". ChicagoBears.com. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  6. ^ Wolf, Scott (December 28, 2016). "Wolf: USC football must seek out next big playmaker". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  7. ^ McCollough, J. Brady (March 1, 2019). "USC's Velus Jones Jr. and Greg Johnson intend to transfer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  8. ^ Eure, Keely (August 14, 2018). "Velus Jones heads into year 3 more familiar with USC's system". 247Sports.com. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  9. ^ "Tennessee announces addition of USC grad transfer WR Jones". APNews.com. January 22, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  10. ^ Kartje, Ryan (January 9, 2020). "USC's Velus Jones will finish collegiate career at Tennessee". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  11. ^ Backus, Will (December 14, 2021). "Tennessee's Velus Jones Jr. gives inside look at summer football workouts". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  12. ^ "Vols' Velus Jones, Jr. Named To Paul Hornung Award Watch List". The Chattanoogan. July 29, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  13. ^ Paschall, David (January 4, 2021). "Velus Jones announces his return to Tennessee for 2021". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  14. ^ Sparks, Adam (December 14, 2021). "Velus Jones Jr says Tennessee coach Josh Heupel lived up to his promises". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  15. ^ "Velus Jones Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  16. ^ "Velus Jones Jr., Tennessee, WR, 2022 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  17. ^ Mayer, Larry (April 29, 2022). "Bears choose WR Velus Jones Jr. in third round". ChicagoBears.com. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  18. ^ Mayer, Larry (May 17, 2022). "Roster Move: Bears sign WR Velus Jones Jr". ChicagoBears.com. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  19. ^ a b c Sharpio, Alex (October 9, 2022). "How Velus Jones Jr. manifested his first career TD". NBC Sports Chicago. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  20. ^ Medina, Luis (October 2, 2022). "Report: Velus Jones Jr. Will Make His NFL Debut TODAY". Bleacher Nation. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  21. ^ Shapiro, Alex (October 14, 2022). "Velus Jones Jr. muffs punt again, Bears to consider new return man". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  22. ^ "Velus Jones Jr. 2022 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  23. ^ "2022 Chicago Bears Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  24. ^ "Velus Jones Jr. 2023 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  25. ^ "2023 Chicago Bears Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  26. ^ "Chicago Bears Training Camp: Velus Jones Jr. getting a chance at running back". allchgo.com. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  27. ^ Chamberlain, Gene (September 4, 2024). "Emotional Ryan Poles Rejects Velus Jones Jr. Trade in Hard Knocks Finale". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  28. ^ McKeone, Liam (September 8, 2024). "Bears Hilariously Botched NFL's New-Look Kickoff With Brutal Turnover". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  29. ^ Alper, Josh (October 26, 2024). "Bears waive Velus Jones, release Khari Blasingame". NBC Sports Chicago. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  30. ^ "Roster Moves: Jaguars Make Three Roster Moves Including Signing Blake Hance to 53-Man Roster". Jaguars.com. October 29, 2024.
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