Vikings Steal Dynamic RB from Rivals
Josh Frey
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The Minnesota Vikings spent the 2023 season in the basement of the NFL in terms of their running game.
After many within the team claimed it would be a focus following a not-so-stellar 2022 season, things only got worse, leading to the release of Alexander Mattison. Well, early on Tuesday morning, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah decided to do his best to put an end to the recent struggles by stealing a dynamic RB from a division rival.
Vikings Sign RB Aaron Jones
That player, of course, is Aaron Jones, who was released only hours ago by the Green Bay Packers after the team decided to bring in Josh Jacobs in free agency. Now, he heads across the state border to Minnesota on a one-year, $7 million deal as reported by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Jones has spent the first seven seasons of his NFL career in a Packers uniform after being selected in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. It was the same draft in which the Vikings landed their former workhorse RB Dalvin Cook.
However, throughout his Packers career, Jones has never gotten the type of workload that Cook did throughout his time with the Vikings. He never reached 250 carries in a single season and only surpassed 200 carries three times. As a result, there is reason to believe that, despite being in the same draft class as Cook, Jones may have a bit more left in the tank at this point.
Jones’ conclusion to the 2023 season would suggest that as well. After spending the majority of the year dealing with a variety of injuries, the running back finally looked fully healthy over the final three weeks of the regular season.
Over those final three games, Jones recorded 63 carries for 358 yards (average of 5.68 yards per carry) while also catching seven passes for an additional 48 receiving yards. The Packers won all three of those games to make the playoffs.
The running back’s strong play would continue in the playoffs, totaling 39 carries for 226 yards and three touchdowns in Green Bay’s two playoff games this season.
In total, Jones has been one of the more efficient running backs in the NFL when healthy. Over his seven seasons, he has amassed 1177 carries for 5940 yards (5.0 yards per carry) and 45 touchdowns in the running game while adding 272 receptions for 2072 yards and 18 TDs as a receiver.
Playing alongside Ty Chandler, Jones should have a running mate who is plenty capable of taking some workload off of the 29-year-old’s legs. The Vikings now have a clear-cut plan in mind for their running back position, which is a positive change from what happened in 2023.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.