In the wake of the Andrew Luck retirement bombshell, the Green Bay Packers struck with a bit of interesting news as well. Josh Jones, the former N.C. State safety they drafted in the 2nd round back in 2017, was notified that he’d been released. This isn’t a big shock. After the team offered a big contract to Adrian Amos and then drafted Darnell Savage in the 1st round, it was obvious his days were numbers. The question now becomes what is next for the 24-year old. The Chicago Bears certainly have reason to be interested.
The kid was a significant athletic talent leading up to the 2017 draft. A big 6’2 safety with 4.41 speed and a willingness to hit. He also showed good ball skills and instinct. The primary concern experts had with him was his discipline. Too often he’d overplay situations both in coverage and tackling, which led to busted plays that shouldn’t have happened. It was a matter of whether the Packers could get him under control. By the look of things, after two seasons they stopped trying.
Now Jones is a free agent and free to sign elsewhere. The Bears are certainly a team he may have interest in. They’ve done great work with safeties in recent years with Amos and Eddie Jackson. Not to mention the unexpected improvement of Deon Bush that was on display again in Indianapolis. Should the team consider taking a flier on him?
Chicago Bears have one man who could save Jones
This sort of decision comes down to two factors. Do the Bears feel they have the coaching in place to get the most out of Jones and do they feel such an experiment is worth sacrificing help on special teams. Let’s start with the first. Sometimes it’s not the player who is the problem but the coaching. Green Bay, to be fair, had two solid defensive coordinators in Dom Capers and Mike Pettine the past two years. Capers got some decent play out of him. Pettine did not.
What sets the Bears apart is they have Chuck Pagano. The man is a notorious specialist with defensive backs, especially at the safety position. He’s coached the likes of Ed Reed, Sean Taylor, and Mike Adams. All future Pro Bowlers at one point or another in their NFL careers. Other lesser-known safeties also saw their career-best seasons under his watch. So Jones would definitely be in good hands with him. The sudden improvement of Bush signals that much.
Then there is the special teams aspect. Jones never really stood out in the third phase during his two years with the Packers. This creates a conundrum for the Bears. Right now they have Sherrick McManis and DeAndre Houston-Carson as their 4th and 5th safeties respectively behind Bush. Both are quality players in the third phase. Much better than him. So it comes down to whether they’re willing to sacrifice that in hopes they might be able to coach Jones up to his potential.
Given how the Chicago Bears coverage units struggled this preseason, that may not be one they’re willing to make. Then again, with Bush, Houston-Carson, and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix all free agents in 2020, GM Ryan Pace may see him as a potential cheap upside gamble for the long-term.
