Bears change minds on veteran running back

Less than a month after coach Lovie Smith said the Bears had no plans to bring in a veteran running back to compete with rookie Matt Forte or provide depth at an apparent area of weakness, the team signed veteran free agent Kevin Jones to a one-year contract Tuesday.

Jones, who rushed for 1,133 yards as a rookie in 2004, still is rehabbing a torn ACL in his right knee that he suffered on Dec. 23, but he worked out for four NFL teams late last month and appeared to be ahead of schedule.

It remains questionable, though, whether he will be able to play by the season opener Sept. 7. Jones was signed after working out Tuesday at Halas Hall and taking a physical.

Forte still is expected to get most of the first-team practice reps when Bears training camp begins July 23, but the team appears to have wavered from its position on the final day of organized team activities on June 18.

"I am comfortable with the running-back position, with Forte," Smith said then. "We don't have any plans to bring anyone else in. We like the running backs that we have right now.

"From Matt to Adrian Peterson to Garrett Wolfe, to P.J. Pope, Matt Lawrence, we like all of our players, and those are the ones that we're going with."

Jones was the Detroit Lions' first-round pick in 2004 (30th overall), and he averaged 4.7 yards per carry as a rookie.

The following season Jones missed games with shoulder and elbow injuries and slumped to 664 rushing yards and a 3.6-yard average. In 2006 Jones caught a career-best 61 passes for 520 yards but suffered a Lisfranc fracture in his left foot and spent the final three games on injured reserve.

Last season the 6-foot, 228-pound Jones rushed for 581 yards, averaging 3.8 yards per carry before his knee injury. He was released by the Lions on March 13 with a year left on his contract.