Aaron Jones, Jonathan Greenard, Jordan Addison and Cam Bynum spoke with reporters after mandatory minicamp on Wednesday, June 5th, 2024, at TCO Performance Center. The Vikings signed Jones during the 2024 free agency period, a replacement for Alexander Mattison, who joined the Las Vegas Raiders roster.
When the Minnesota Vikings signed Aaron Jones this offseason, there was a mutual interest in turning the page. The Green Bay Packers had all but disrespected their longtime great by asking him to take a paycut and ultimately cutting him loose. The Vikings needed someone who looked much more competent than Alexander Mattison and was willing to take on the health risk.
Because of the injury designations over the years, Aaron Jones was in that position anyway. He has been incredibly effective when on the field, but it has become more difficult to count on him throughout a full season.
Thus far, the Minnesota Vikings and Aaron Jones have been a match made in heaven. Despite going down with a hip injury during the London game against the New York Jets, Jones was back in action out of the bye and never missed time. Despite suffering a chest injury on Sunday, he was back on the field before the game was even over.
Against the Jaguars, Jones led the backfield by logging 88 yards on 17 carries. He turned in a pair of receptions for another 13 yards and continued to look like the quality back Minnesota was looking for. His 653 yards on the ground is 14th in the NFL. He has found the end zone just twice, but he has been the bellcow that Kevin O’Connell hoped to find.
At this point, Minnesota is just over halfway through the 2024 regular season. Jones still has another eight games to play, and that’s before considering the playoffs. It shouldn’t be seen as a given that he’ll make it, but there’s also no reason to discredit his work to this point. Jones talked highly about the Vikings’ plan to prepare him for action. Consistent work in the training room has kept his body ready to go on a weekly basis.
When the Vikings added Cam Akers a couple of weeks ago, it seemed to signal uncertainty with Jones. That may have been the case, but instead, the tandem looks like a strong complement to one another. Minnesota certainly isn’t hoping that Akers will need to take over as the leadback at any point, but the duo has proven capable of getting the job done while sharing touches.
At the end of the day, this sort of start is precisely what Jones was looking to prove. He wanted an opportunity to show he still had it and was willing to prove that his health wasn’t the concern it was cracked up to be.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes daily for Minnesota Sports Fan. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.