This isn’t the first time Thomas Jones has been told he’s the No. 1 running back before being told he wasn’t.
It happened first in Arizona, now with the Bears. In between was a short stay in Tampa Bay that convinced the Bears he was worth signing last winter.
Now comes yet another offensive system, one designed to fit a power runner such as Cedric Benson, whom the Bears made the fourth pick overall in the NFL draft. It’s a subject Jones had not discussed publicly until Wednesday.
Before the draft, the Bears told Jones they might wind up with a running back.
“They said he might be the best player at the position,” Jones said Wednesday after the Bears returned to practice. “That’s fine. They made the decisions, I play football.”
It’s clear Jones isn’t going to make waves.
“He understands this is a business and we want to get the best players,” said running backs coach Tim Spencer, who had to fight for playing time himself in his NFL days with San Diego. “When they draft a first-rounder at your position, you question a lot of things. He’s an excellent back, did some nice things [last year].
“We needed another guy and had a chance to get a great back. He understands that.”
The Bears signed Jones in the early hours of free agency before last season, believing he was a perfect fit for their offense at the time. He wasn’t the problem last year, rushing for 948 yards. Problems around him limited him to 4.0 yards per carry.
A toe injury cost him two games and all but a series of a third. Still, he led the Bears with 56 receptions.
Jones believes he’s a better fit for the new offense than he was for the old. That remains to be seen, but production is the issue.
“Last year, I’m not sure if the offense was executed the way we wanted to execute it because we had a lot of injuries,” Jones said. “We had quarterback problems, offensive line problems.”
When the Bears’ starting offense lined up Wednesday, Jones was in it. But the Bears didn’t draft Benson to be a backup, so sooner or later, he will play. Will Jones be happy?
“That’s not how I think; I don’t have those thoughts in my mind,” he said.
“He’s a complementary guy, from what I see. We have different styles. Anytime you have someone who can make guys miss, it helps the offense.
“Cedric is learning. I’ll help him as much as possible. As far as running backs go, we’re all in it together. We feel if we do our job as a whole, we’ll make the team better.”
The challenge for the Bears’ coaching staff is to keep Jones from becoming its next Anthony Thomas, who played sparingly last season when Jones was healthy and is now with Dallas.
“We can’t win without Thomas Jones, so he’s going to play,” Spencer said. “Now, will he play and get all the reps that he wants? Probably not. Will Cedric get all the reps he wants? Probably not. But it’s about the team, and it’s up to coaches to put them right place to help the team.
“Certainly they can be on the field at the same time. Thomas has been a pro awhile, and he can adjust and do some things from a receiver standpoint a young guy may not be ready for. [But] Cedric is getting familiar with the offense, and he can catch the ball.
“Thomas is a very, very smart player. He’s going to do things, things you don’t even ask him to do. He covers for other guys. He knows he’s the last line of defense [pass-blocking in] the passing game.”
Extra points
Safety Chris Harris, a sixth-round pick from Louisiana-Monroe, became the first Bears draft choice to sign Wednesday. Harris signed a four-year deal potentially worth $1.485 million, including a $100,000 signing bonus. Harris will make the minimum base salaries of $230,000, $310,000 and $385,000 the first three years. His fourth-year pay of $460,000 will approximately double if he plays 35 percent of defensive plays as a rookie, 45 percent the second year or 50 percent the third. . . .
Former Illinois quarterback Kurt Kittner of the Bears has led Amsterdam (7-2) to a berth in the World Bowl XIII against Berlin (6-3) on June 12 in Dusseldorf, Germany. Kittner threw three touchdown passes and no interceptions in last week’s 27-10 victory over Hamburg. With a week left in the regular season, Kittner has completed 54.7 percent of his passes with nine touchdown passes and 10 interceptions.
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tabannon@tribune.com
