Tuesday, July 15, 2008 8:50 PM
Perry
Bears are Jones'n. Former Lions running back returns to the NFC North
The Bears are done hibernating. Finally. The Halas Hall braintrust has actually signed a veteran running back to support rookie Matt Forte in the backfield. Kevin Jones signed a 1 year contract for a little over $600k. This is a great move, if I do say so myself. I had to look up the contract details on ESPN, here. The [Bears] website never has contract details (I've pointed this out in the past). So let's get to it. Why am I so high on Kevin Jones? Is it because I miss a different running back named Jones?! (Thomas) Nope, that isn't it. It's simply because this is a no lose deal for the Bears. It is pure upside. What is the worst thing that happens? Jones isn't fully healed from his recent injury problems? That is what cost him his job in Detroit. If he isn't healthy, we wasted $600k and are left with Forte anyway.
The bottom line is that Matt Forte isn't going to be able to carry the entire load for us this season. The coaching staff wasn't planning on starting Forte this year. The running back out of Tulane was supposed to be the spark that the now departed Cedric Benson needed to do his job. Thomas Jones was that spark a few years ago, and it isn't far fetched to believe that Forte would have pushed Benson to a level of play we haven't seen from the laggard. But Benson is now gone, and the Bears needed depth at the position that defines the franchise. Going into training camp with Peterson, Wolfe, and Forte would have been irresponsible.
Kevin Jones comes to Chicago and plans to prove to the league that he is healthy. He gets the chance to stick it to his old team twice this season. If he is healthy, he may get that chance every year. He is excited to be a Bear, and he has worked hard to get himself back into shape. Unlike Benson I get the feeling that Jones just loves playing football. We're not going to win the division because of this move. Then again, if another disgruntled NFC North player wants to get revenge on his old team, Chicago is more than willing to help.
Go BEARS!
Filed under: Bears, News, Football