Taking a look at this article it would suggest that Kevin Jones is not guaranteed a roster spot and whether he is will be based on his performance in the last two games.

It's not like there is a roster spot guaranteed for the former member of the Detroit Lions. Jones will test out his surgically repaired knee for the first time in a game and said he has as much to prove to himself as the team.

Jones is coming off of an injury, it might take some time to get back into the swing of things.  If the Bears were to cut Jones for anything other than another injury it would be a huge mistake.  We have a horrible line right now and our pass game isn't looking too great.  We are going to be relying on the run game to move this machine.  We need as many able bodies as we can get.  Rookie Matt Forte looks like he could be a feature back, but we don't know for sure.  The original Adrian Peterson is a special teams ace that is a backup at best and can be an occastional fill in.  Garrett Wolfe is only a situational back.  Kevin Jones is the only proven commodity we have.  He has high potential when he is healthy.  To cast him off because of bad performances behind a shotty line in pre season is irresponsible and blatantly ignoring the needs of the team.

Newly signed Bears running back Kevin Jones has been medically cleared to return to practice.

He is coming off knee surgery in January and his return has been nothing short of remarkable given the normal recovery time for similar injuries.

The former Lion, a former first-round draft pick, said on the first day of training camp that he signed with the Bears with the idea of winning the starting running back job. Saturday night in Bourbonnais, he gets his first opportunity to start making his bid.

Regardless of whether Jones is able to wrestle away the starting gig from rookie Matt Forte, if Jones can stay healthy the Bears have very good depth at the running back spot, which they will need to help take whatever pressure they can off the quarterbacks.  When healthy Jones has shown he can be a very effective runner, but as the case with some other Bears players, mainly Mike Brown, that big IF usually goes against us.

This writer thinks that if Devin Hester can play half the Bears offensive snaps it will not take away from his return capabilities.  That's great, but the Bears seem intent on him being their number 1 receiver, would that take away from his returns?

The only concern is injury, but a team as deficient in playmakers as the Bears cannot afford to let that prevent them from using Hester in the passing game. If he plays half the offensive snaps, a realistic goal this year, then he still should have enough energy to return kickoffs and punts. He's a football player, tough-minded and willing to exert himself, and to remove Hester from a job returning kicks and punts that he does historically well would be a mistake. Finding a way to get Hester to multitask is the coaching staff's obligation.

The One Not To Be Named is backing Kyle Orton.  I guess that means Rex is our guy.

Mark Bradley's availability for the start of training camp is still up in the air.

At the time, the club announced he was questionable for the start of training camp. For his part, Bradley vowed he would be ready when things kicked off. It's fair to say it is important for Bradley to be involved early. He was essentially handed a starting job after Bernard Berrian set sail for Minnesota in free agency and Muhsin Muhammad was released. But after making just six receptions last season, and really being only marginally involved because of injuries since his rookie season in 2005, Bradley doesn't have much room for error.

2008 Preview, including Matt Forte facing plenty of 8 man fronts.

Although initially not showing any interest in former Detroit Lions runner Kevin Jones, the Bears seem to now have the interest.

Apparently, the Bears are curious enough to take a good look at the ex-Lions running back, a former first-round draft pick who believes he can return to 1,000-yard form after two serious injuries the last two seasons.

NFL sources said Jones was to take a physical and visit Halas Hall on Tuesday, one week before the Bears open training camp.

The big hold up is Jones' knee.  If he passes physical, then I think he can be a useful addition.  We don't know what we have in Matt Forte.  We hope we have our franchise back, but we don't know.  If he can't get the job done, it would be a luxury to have another running back with some time in the league.

Jones has never had a great season, but with injuries and being on an awful Lions team his whole career did not help that.

Not contract has been offered so far.

Maybe the Bears feigned interest early on to see what the market was.  Once only 4 teams showed interest and none of them signed him they figured they could get a deal more to their liking if they decided to pursue that route.

Here is a preview of the Bears upcoming season.

The Bear offense wasn't spectacular in their 2006 Super Bowl season but last year it was abysmal - especially the running game. Chicago clearly missed Thomas Jones in the backfield as they only produced 83.3 yards rushing per game without him. Cedric Benson could not handle the load and, due to his poor production and off the field issues, the team let him go this off season. It looks as though second round pick Matt Forte (Tulane) might get a chance to be the number one back in his rookie campaign

Moreover it lists some odds for the Bears.

3/1 to win the NFC North

15/1 to win the NFC

40/1 to win the Super Bowl

I have also seen 35/1 for the  Super Bowl elsewhere.

Many saw the Bears decission to hand the starting running back spot to Matt Forte as follie, considering veteran options such as Shaun Alexander and Kevin Jones were available.  This story sees it quite the contrary saying that running back is possibly the easiest position for a rookie to succeed right away and history backs that up.

Schemes and philosophies can vary, but a running back's primary job is the same at every level: Find the hole, accelerate and make the first defender miss. More than anywhere else, raw skills and instincts can triumph over inexperience.

Recent NFL history offers ample evidence. Since the 1993 start of the salary-cap era, 44 rookies have rushed for at least 700 yards in a season. Of those, 27 have achieved the 1,000-yard plateau -- and not all were high-profile draft picks. For every Adrian Peterson (1,341 yards in 2007) and LaDainian Tomlinson (1,236 in 2001), there has been a Domanick Williams (1,031 in 2003) and Terrell Davis (1,117 in 1995).

Unless Rex Grossman or Kyle Orton come down with a case of the Drew Brees, I think Forte is going to need to bring  more than the 1,000 yards he thinks he will get.  Furthermore, those 1,000+ yards need to be accompanied by double digit TDS if this offense is to be any help to the defense.

The Bears have signed second round running back out of Tulane, Matt Forte.

Terms are not disclosed, but it is a four year deal.

Forte finished his career at Tulane (2004-07) as the school’s all-time leader in rushing yards per game (99.2), rushing touchdowns (39), total touchdowns (44) and scoring among non-kickers (266 points). The 6-2, 216 pounder finished his Green Wave career ranked second in school annals in all-purpose yards (5,261), rushing yards (4,265), rushing attempts (833) and 100-yard rushing games (16). Forte is just the 11th player in NCAA Division I (Bowl Subdivision) history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season with 2,127 in 2007 which ranks seventh all-time in NCAA history.

The Bears are closing in on once again being the first team to sign all their draft picks.  This would be the third and most improbable year considering the number of picks they had, 12 (Most in NFC).

The Bears are nearing a deal with second round pick Matt Forte.  A deal is expected to be done tonight.

That leaves only first round selection Chris Williams; however, it is also being reported that the Bears are in "aggressive" negotiations with him and a deal could be reached as early as Friday.

I know we have a lot of issues with management and how they do things, but this as well as signing our own players, within reason, to deals are two areas they have excelled.

The Bears took care of three more of their rookie class yesterday.

Marcus Harrison,  Earl Bennett and Zackary Bowman all recieved 4 year deals with the Bears.

Marcus Harrison

Harrison is a first-round talent who dropped in the draft because of durability and character concerns. The 6-3, 310-pounder tore his left ACL last spring, but rebounded to register 76 tackles, 6½ tackles-for-loss and 1½ sacks while starting 10 games at Arkansas. He also batted down 10 passes and forced one fumble.

Earl Bennett

Highly competitive and productive, Bennett finished as the SEC’s all-time leading receiver with 236 catches despite playing only three seasons at Vanderbilt. The 6-foot, 209-pounder is the only player in conference history with at least 75 receptions in multiple seasons.

Zackary Bowman

Bowman showed promise in 2005 at Nebraska, recording 27 tackles, 14 pass breakups and two interceptions while starting five of 11 games played. But the 6-1, 197-pounder tore his left ACL in spring practice and missed the entire 2006 season.

The two remaining players yet sign are first rounder Chris Williams and second round Matt Forte.

A source close the Bears organization said that the Bears and third round selection Marcus Harrison should finalize a deal within the next 24 hours.

Third-round pick Marcus Harrison is on the verge of signing a four-year deal with the Bears, an NFL source said Monday. The deal is expected to be finalized within the next 24 hours.

Harrison, a defensive tackle from Arkansas, could provide a spark as a backup on the interior of the defensive line this coming season. He had first-round potential, but an arrest and ACL injury caused the rookie to drop. Harrison is projected as a future starter.

The remaining unsigned Bears draft choices are 1st rounder Chris Williams, second rounder Matt Forte, third rounder Earl Bennett and fifth rounder Zackary Bowman.

I am curious as to how Cedric Benson's waiving effects Matt Forte's signing.  Surely before he pretty  much had to sign what was given to him, but now with Benson out he has a bit more leverage if he was interested in pushing.