**Lake Forest, Ill.** — The Chicago Bears have made some roster adjustments, freeing up two spots by parting ways with a former third-round draft choice from Ryan Poles’ inaugural draft.
On Friday, the team announced the waiving of wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. and the release of fullback Khari Blasingame. Both players had been healthy scratches for several weeks. Jones Jr., a third-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft and Poles’ first offensive pick, struggled with fumbling issues, which led to him being benched for both receiving and kickoff duties. During training camp, he also experimented with playing running back and received reps in the preseason.
With his continued absence from the game, Poles has decided to move on from Jones Jr.
As for Blasingame, he was in his third season with the Bears but never secured a consistent role, as the team chose to keep an additional offensive lineman active on game days. Instead, Chicago has utilized Doug Kramer as a fullback in their jumbo packages, which led to Blasingame being inactive.
