The Aaron Jones Injury Situation Takes a Couple of Turns
Will he or won’t he? That’s the question for Aaron Jones at this stage.
The talented runner offers balance to a Minnesota offense in desperate need of some, especially with Sam Darnold operating under center. Kevin O’Connell spoke with the media on Wednesday and there was an injury update. Plus, the initial injury report explained that Jones didn’t participate in practice due to a hamstring issue.
Aaron Jones: To Play or Not to Play, That is the Question
So far in 2024, things have proceeded splendidly for the former Packer.
Aaron Jones is sitting on 71 carries, 350 yards (4.9 average), and 1 touchdown. He has added on 17 receptions for 167 yards (9.8 average) and 1 touchdown. So, a productive beginning to the season even as he has missed a bit of time due to the hip/hamstring ailment.
Mr. Jones is coming in at 3rd overall among 67 eligible runners on PFF, further pointing toward an excellent beginning to the year. Even better, C.J. Ham is ranked at 1st among fullbacks, suggesting the pair work well together.
O’Connell came around to Jones in the presser, explaining that the Cam Akers add wasn’t about a doom-and-gloom prognosis for the RB1: “Has no bearing on our current running back situation. Aaron is going to progress throughout the week and hopefully has a chance to go on Sunday.”
“Aaron Jones has been a huge, huge impact to our team,” O’Connell goes on to explain.
In the end, some optimism from the head coach while nevertheless articulating some uncertainty about whether Jones will be ready to roll in Week 7. The simple fact that Mr. Jones snagged a DNP is a bad sign after multiple beat writers saw him hit the field for some work on Monday.
Ben Goessling, for instance, offered this thought: “Aaron Jones is participating in the #Vikings’ light practice as they return from their bye week. Good early sign for the running back after his hip injury in London.” The keyword in the quotation above is “light.” Coming off the bye, the work on Monday wasn’t particularly strenuous, so Jones could hop in. The Wednesday workload was a bit ramped up and Jones didn’t join.
Now, a Wednesday DNP isn’t necessarily the death knell for Sunday. Every week, the NFL offers players who don’t practice on Wednesday who nevertheless play on Sunday. Maybe Aaron Jones will be one of those players in Week 7.
The plan, per Goessling, is for Jones to give Thursday practice a shot: “Aaron Jones said he’ll practice on Thursday and see how he’s feeling before the #Vikings make a determination on whether he’ll play Sunday.”
Another factor to keep in mind is simply that Minnesota tends to be cautious with injuries. The leadership knows that the season is a gruelling one, so there’s a willingness to lose the battle (sit a player for a week) to win the war (hopefully have a healthier player long term).
Minnesota and Detroit are doing battle on Sunday, October 20th at U.S. Bank Stadium. Kickoff is going to take place at 12 p.m. CST.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and PFF helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.