Bears sign Jones to address kicking woes

[January 26, 2019]    The Chicago Bears have started the process of rectifying their kicking issues from this past season, signing Tulsa product Redford Jones on Friday after a workout that reportedly included multiple hopefuls.

Jones' agency, EnterSports Management, announced the signing via Twitter.

The Bears are not expected to retain Cody Parkey, who is the only kicker currently listed on the roster.

Parkey, 26, not only missed seven field goals and three extra points during the regular season, his 43-yard attempt in the NFC wild-card round against the Philadelphia Eagles first hit the upright then the crossbar before bouncing back on the field. The Eagles advanced instead and were eliminated by the New Orleans Saints a week later.

Jones, 24, is expected to compete for the Bears' job in training camp. The Bears have also been rumored to be interested in former kicker Robbie Gould, who is a free agent after kicking for the San Francisco 49ers the past two seasons. Gould, 36, was the Bears' kicker from 2005-15.

Jones made 50 of his 67 field-goal attempts at Tulsa from 2015-17, and does have a kick on his resume where he hit both uprights. Unlike Parkey's double-doink, though, that 2016 attempt against Cincinnati ended up going over the crossbar for three points.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the Bears' workout which yielded Jones, featured six kickers, including veteran Nick Folk.

NFL veteran Blair Walsh also participated, according to multiple reports. The others were Austin MacGinnis, a former college kicker for Kentucky, and former arena league kickers Josh Gable and Ernesto Lacayo.

--Field Level Media

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