Bears may turn to rookie WR Velus Jones Jr. to fill void left by Byron Pringle

The last thing the Chicago Bears needed was an injury in their wide receiver group while their passing offense is struggling to find its footing.

But after the Bears placed wideout Byron Pringle on injured reserve on Tuesday, sidelining him for at least the next four games, head coach Matt Eberflus disclosed that the team may have the in-house candidate to fill Pringle’s spot in the lineup.

“Hopefully, Velus [Jones Jr.] can be up for us this game,” Eberflus told reporters on Wednesday. “We’ll see how that goes in terms of the injury that he’s had. Hopefully that can happen this week.

“…He’s been conditioning, working in there. We’ll see where he is today, we’ll work him in individual [drills]. We have limited reps during the course of practice. He’ll get some practice squad reps and we’ll see where he is. Then we’ll work him in. We have a plan; we’ve had a plan for him to come back in there and then had to move it back a little bit. So, it’s been in place for a couple of weeks.”

A third-round pick out of the University of Tennessee in the 2022 Draft, Jones Jr. ranked second on the Vols with 62 receptions, 807 yards and seven touchdowns. He’s been out of action while battling a hamstring injury since the preseason, but he did begin practicing again this week.

Justin Fields, who’s 297 yards passing through the first three weeks is the lowest total for any QB over a three-game span since the merger, has struggled this season with short-to-intermediate throws, completing just 52.3% of his passes from 0-19 yards for just 161 yards and an interception, according to Pro Football Focus.

Adding Jones Jr. into the fold, who specialized in yards after the catch at Tennessee (64% of his receiving yards in 2021 came after the catch), could help jumpstart Fields and the passing game.