Jones leads Bears in tackles

With 28 tackles in the past three games, inside linebacker Christian Jones now leads the Bears with 40 tackles, 1 more than Danny Trevathan.

Jones didn't start the first three games, but since injuries to Jerrell Freeman, Nick Kwiatkoski and John Timu, he's been a fixture in the starting lineup and a testament to the Bears' depth at the position.

"It's all about opportunity," Jones said. "I don't even know where I was at (on the depth chart). But you've got to come in and work. You've got to compete. Compete to play, compete to stay. Every day, I just wanted to be relevant and do a little something. It paid off, just having a positive attitude about everything."

Jones' athleticism, versatility, work ethic and enthusiasm have made him a favorite of the coaching staff.

"He's just getting better and better," defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. "Christian played full-time for us in '15 (13 starts, 98 tackles). He had never played inside linebacker before (then). He was getting better at that point, and he's still getting better."

Jones was an outside linebacker at Florida State but went undrafted in 2014, although he started five games for the Bears as a rookie. Last year he split time inside and outside but played sparingly, although he had 11 special-teams tackles, second on the team to Sherrick McManis' 13.

"Inside linebacker, especially when you were a guy in college that played on the line of scrimmage, is a very, very hard transition (to the NFL)," Fangio said. "And you need patience. Sometimes patience isn't in abundance in this business. But I felt like he could improve all along, and I still feel like he can improve more. He's not playing perfect, but he's playing (darn) good."

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