Vikings Cut Candidate “Flashed” in First Padded Practice

Aug 20, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings linebacker Patrick Jones II (91) and cornerback Akayleb Evans (21) tackle San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) during the first quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Patrick Jones II is a Vikings cut candidate.

Entering Year 4, the Rick Spielman pick is trying to earn a roster spot from within an edge rusher room that has been totally overhauled. The clear-cut top trio are Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Dallas Turner. At most, there will be three others kept on the final roster. Jones will need to prove that he’s worthy of a roster spot even though his competition is coming from guys brought in by the current GM, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.

Vikings Cut Candidate Patrick Jones and The “Flash” at Practice

Thankfully for Jones, the opening padded practice featured some positives.

The word comes courtesy of the Vikings’ Craig Peters. Per Peters, the outside linebacker snagged a victory over stud right tackle Brian O’Neill in a one-on-one: “Pat Jones II, who is preparing for his fourth pro season, turned in a nice rep while working against right tackle Brian O’Neill during 1-on-1 drills. Jones also flashed at multiple points during other practice periods, working on the outside and then kicking in to rush from an interior defensive line position on passing downs.”

NFL: Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears
Jan 8, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Minnesota Vikings linebacker Patrick Jones II (91) enters the field before the first half against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

The first takeaway is simply that Jones got the better of O’Neill, which is no easy task. The right tackle is one of the best in the NFL, so winning a rep against the veteran is notable enough.

What’s also noteworthy is that Jones got shuffled around. Being versatile is one of the most coveted traits in a Brian Flores defense (which is to say nothing of Kevin O’Connell’s own emphasis on the ability). Being able to move into more of a defensive tackle role on passing downs would greatly enhance Jones’ appeal to Flores.

Minnesota did experiment with this look a bit last season, putting Jones into the A-gap area for 8 snaps and the B-gap area for 54 snaps. For the most part, though, he was lining up along the edge, his natural position.

Last season, Patrick Jones struggled. The 6’4″, 264-pound edge rusher played in all seventeen games while starting four. He played a career high 635 snaps, an opportunity he received almost out of necessity given the injuries to Marcus Davenport and then eventually to D.J. Wonnum.

NFL: Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears
Jan 8, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Nathan Peterman (14) passes the ball under pressure from Minnesota Vikings linebacker D.J. Wonnum (98) during the first half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Unfortunately, Jones did less with more, putting up more modest stats despite getting more chances on the field.

True, he set a career high in tackles with 32, but that’s only 5 more than the 27 he put up in roughly half the snaps in Ed Donatell’s bland 2022 defense. Plus, the sacks sunk down from 4 to 1 while the tackles for a loss went from 8 to 5. To his credit, Jones did hit the QB 8 times, a small raise from the 5 in 2022.

PFF was less than impressed with the work that Patrick Jones offered. In fact, the analytics website gave him a dismal 37.5 grade, landing at 112th out of the 112 edge rushers considered in their ranking. That comes after a season where he was sitting at a 65.6 PFF score, so all hope shouldn’t be lost.

NFL: Kansas City Chiefs at Minnesota Vikings
Oct 8, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) throws a pass as Minnesota Vikings linebacker Pat Jones II (91) defends during the second quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

The former 3rd-Round selection is moving into the final season of his rookie contract. His cap hit sits at $1,549,576; a cut would clear out $1,324,104 in cap space. The most direct competition for Jones’ roster spot rests in Jihad Ward, Andre Carter, and Gabriel Murphy.

Patrick Jones is 25. He will have his 26th birthday at the end of September.

Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.


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 and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.