Sep 8, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Vikings Fans react during the second half of a game between the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images.
He practiced.
That’s the word on Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones, who injured his hamstring 11 days ago in London. With no practice Thursday, Jones likely would’ve trended to miss Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions.
Star Tribune’s Andrew Krammer tweeted the injury update from Eagan. “Vikings practicing today with RB Aaron Jones (hamstring), DT Harrison Phillips (shoulder) and OLB Pat Jones II (shoulder),” he wrote. “All three were sidelined yesterday. Still no LB Blake Cashman (turf toe) New RB Cam Akers running through play calls on sideline during punt drills.”
Also from Star Tribune, Ben Goessling mentioned Wednesday, “The Vikings are calling it a hamstring, not a hip, injury for Aaron Jones. It was first described as a hip injury when he left the game in London. It’s listed as a hamstring, in the first official injury report since the Jets game.”
Jones’ presence at Thursday’s practice tentatively puts him on track to play this weekend, though his workload may be less than usual. RB2 Ty Chandler could experience more touches.
Jones is on pace for 1,758 yards from scrimmage and 6 touchdowns in 2024, a massive upgrade to last year’s RB1, Alexander Mattison. In fact, without Jones in London for a couple of quarters, the Vikings’ offense floundered and reverted to clumsy 3-and-Outs.
Too, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah conducted a low-risk trade for running back Cam Akers on Tuesday evening, sending a conditional 6th-Rounder to the Houston Texans for Akers and a conditional 7th-Round pick. If Jones cannot play Sunday or thereafter, Minnesota will feature Chandler, Akers, and RB3-RB4 Myles Gaskin.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell sounded reasonably optimistic earlier this week about Jones’ chances of playing on Sunday. “Aaron is going to progress throughout the week and hopefully has a chance to go on Sunday,” O’Connell told reporters.
O’Connell also opined on would-be Jones alternatives: “Ty Chandler and Myles Gaskin and Cam will work behind him. I like where Ty’s at. Obviously, Aaron Jones has been a huge impact to our team, so getting to solidify that depth at that position, with an urgency to run the football throughout the rest of the season, we wanted to make sure we could do that now when an opportunity became available.”
No matter what, Minnesota will need production from its ground game versus the Lions. It has lost thrice consecutively to Detroit, and a fourth would make the first time since the early 1960s that the Vikings dropped back-to-back-to-back-to-back against the Lions.
Friday’s final injury report will provide the final clue on Jones’ Sunday status.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.