Chicago Bears wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. (12) celebrates with running back Travis Homer (20) after scoring a score during the second half of an NFL preseason football game against the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, N.Y., Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
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Bears speedster Velus Jones Jr. mentioned his ferret Crash on Tuesday night’s episode of “Hard Knocks.” This isn’t the first time Crash – who died in 2020 – has been remembered on television.
CBS told Crash’s story once during the 2021 Tennessee-Georgia game. Jones has the video on his phone. Jones told media members all about Crash after practice Wednesday at Halas Hall. This is the story from Bears training camp that fans didn’t know they needed.
Jones and receiver Michael Pittman (now with the Indianapolis Colts) were roommates at USC a few years ago when the Trojans visited Washington State. As is often the case in the Pac-12, they had a late kickoff. The team did a walk-through early in the day and then had a lot of time to kill before the game started.
Since they had free time and nothing to do, Jones and Pittman headed to PetSmart, where they met ferrets.
“We were like, ‘What the hell are these things? You hear me?'” Jones said. “Like they were ferrets. I tried to put my hand in the pool and they bit my hand and stuff. But it was a cool experience. Those were the younger ones. The older ones would just try to grab your hand, but they didn’t bite as hard.”
That day, Jones and Pittman decided to buy a ferret. Back in Los Angeles, they looked for a ferret breeder on Craigslist, of all places. And so they drove around the streets of South Central Los Angeles in Pittman’s Camaro, looking for the ferret breeder’s address.
“We were driving somewhere in South Central, walking down an alley and looking at each other,” Jones said. “I told him to keep the engine running.”
When a man came out of a house with a ferret in his arms, they knew they were in the right place.
Chicago Bears wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. (12) warms up before an NFL preseason game against the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, N.Y., Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
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“It was the most incredible thing I’ve ever experienced,” Jones said.
Crash, named after the video game character Crash Bandicoot, wasn’t cheap. He cost more than $300. He wasn’t a young ferret, but he was already neutered and deodorized. They cared for Crash for the rest of their time in Los Angeles. Quarterback JT Daniels also babysat Crash from time to time. Pittman moved to the NFL in the 2020 draft and Jones moved to Tennessee.
Unfortunately, Crash had to be put down in 2020 when his hind legs became paralyzed. Pittman and some of her other friends send pictures and videos of Crash from time to time.
“He’s one of a kind,” Jones said. “You won’t get another one like him. One of a kind.”
On the football field, Jones is currently working on a position change from wide receiver to running back. But Wednesday was all about memories of Crash.
Chicago Bears defensive back Kyler Gordon catches a ball during an NFL training camp in Lake Forest, Illinois, Monday, July 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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Injury Updates:
Several expected starters returned to team practice on Wednesday. Cornerbacks Kyler Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson both participated in portions of 11-on-11 before opting out. Both are slowly working their way back into practice. Gordon hasn’t practiced in about three weeks.
Right guard Nate Davis participated fully in team drills for the first time in about two weeks. Defensive end Montez Sweat also participated in team drills again after a long break.
Additionally, the following players did not practice on Wednesday: safety Jaquan Brisker, quarterback Brett Rypien, safety Adrian Colbert, receiver DeAndre Carter, linebacker Noah Sewell, long snapper Patrick Scales, defensive end Jacob Martin, lineman Theo Benedet, lineman Ryan Bates and receiver Collin Johnson.
All of these injuries will be undisclosed. The Bears are not obligated to provide injury updates until Week 1 of the regular season.
Highlights from practice:
In a two-minute drill on Wednesday, the Bears defense kept the offense out of the end zone. On third-and-10 from the 19-yard line, with the clock counting down to zero, quarterback Caleb Williams threw a pass toward receiver Dante Pettis in the corner of the end zone. Despite heavy traffic, Pettis got his hands on the ball but couldn’t catch it.
Earlier, Williams had made brief progress with tight end Cole Kmet and running back D’Andre Swift in the two-minute drill. From the 38-yard line, Williams again threw over the middle to Kmet, this time for a 19-yard gain into the red zone.
At the start of practice, Sweat chased Williams out of the pocket and scored a sack (without actually hitting him, of course). Williams briefly got in Sweat’s face. But it was all good. Williams had a big smile on his face and seemed to signal to the veteran defensive end that he had made a good play.
