Velus Jones Jr. and Equanimeous St. Brown will not play for the Bears when they take on the Packers in the 2023 NFL regular season opener. The team announced that each wide receiver will be among the team’s inactive players on Sunday.
The Bears opted to run with five wide receivers on Sunday: DJ Moore, Chase Claypool, Darnell Mooney, Tyler Scott and Trent Taylor.
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Jones Jr. was taken off punt return duties when the team acquired Taylor after NFL cut down day. That relegated Jones Jr. to essentially only kickoff return action, and that wasn’t enough value for the team to give him a jersey on Sunday.
St. Brown’s inactive status indicates the Bears are very comfortable with Moore, Claypool and Mooney as their top-three wideouts, while sprinkling in rookie Scott.
It’s also worth noting that tight end Robert Tonyan is good to go after he was added to the injury report on Saturday with a back issue. Tonyan emerged as a red zone threat for the Bears offense throughout camp.
NFL teams are only allowed to dress 46 of their 53 players for gameday, which is why the team has seven inactives. However, a new rule in 2023 will allow teams to name an emergency QB– Tyson Bagent for the Bears– and not have that man count towards their 46 active players.
