A Tulsa product, Jones won over a spot with the Bears after the team hosted multiple kickers, a group that included former Pro Bowlers in Blair Walsh and Nick Folk.
Jones has yet to kick in the NFL. He was 50-of-67 on field goals and 169-of-172 on extra points during three seasons at Tulsa.
True to general manager Ryan Pace's word, the Bears held a kicking competition after the struggles of veteran Cody Parkey forced their hand.
Signed to a four-year deal with $9 million guaranteed last March, Parkey was 23-of-30 on field-goal attempts in the regular season. Several of his misses proved to be costly, including a 53-yard kick that would've won a game at Miami on Oct. 14. Instead, the Bears fell 31-28 in overtime to the Dolphins. Had the Bears won one more regular-season game, they would've earned a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Parkey also missed four kicks -- two field goals and two extra points -- off the uprights in the Bears' 34-22 victory against the Lions on Nov. 11. Then came a missed 43-yard field goal by Parkey with 10 seconds remaining in the wild-card game to the Eagles, an attempt that would've won the game hitting the left goal post and the bottom crossbar. The Bears would go on to lose, 16-15, and have their season end on that note.
In the aftermath of his struggles, Parkey received overwhelming support from his teammates and coach Matt Nagy, but the tone changed after he appeared on the "Today Show" five days after the Bears' season-ending loss.
"We always talk about a 'we' and not a 'me' thing," Nagy said in the season-ending press conference. "And we always talk as a team, we win as a team, we lose as a team. I didn't necessarily think that was too much of a 'we' thing."
Parkey remains under contract with the Bears, though if he were to remain with the team for a second season, it would have to come beating new competition in Jones.