Bears send message to Velus Jones Jr. after kickoff fumble

While the Chicago Bears special teams unit played a big role in the team's comeback win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 1, there was one player who almost cost them the game.

Velus Jones Jr. has notably struggled with fumbles in the return game, and it was more of the same in the season opener. He muffed his first kickoff return in the first quarter, which he essentially kicked to the Titans to set Tennessee's offense up on Chicago's 30-yard line. While the Bears defense held them to only a field goal, it was the kind of mistake that has cost this team games in the past.

While special teams coordinator Richard Hightower empathized with Jones' miscue, he called his kickoff return fumble "unacceptable" while preaching ball security.

"As a human, I hurt for the kid, I really do," Hightower said. "But as a coach, we have to evaluate all of our options. And he knows in the return game the No. 1 thing is to take care of the football."

Following Jones' gaffe, punt returner DeAndre Carter assumed kickoff duties in his place. Granted, Carter had just one kickoff return, but he returned it 67 yards, which led to a Cairo Santos field goal. Could we see Carter take over as kickoff returner on a more permanent basis, in addition to serving as punt returner?

"I'm totally comfortable with DeAndre doing such; that's why he did it to finish the game," Hightower said. "But we'll see. I mean, they're out there competing and working their tail off and I know DeAndre really wants that role and he really takes it serious and his teammates [do] as well."

If that winds up being the case, it would leave Jones' status up-in-the-air. While Jones brings something to the table as a running back, his special teams contributions gave him an edge over someone like Tyler Scott, who was a healthy scratch in Week 1. We'll have to see how things play out heading into a big prime-time matchup against the Houston Texans on Sunday night.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears send message to Velus Jones Jr. after kickoff fumble