Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1) is introduced before an NFL football matchup Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Browns defeated the Jaguars 18-13. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.
Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones injured his hip on Sunday during his team’s dub over the New York Jets in London.
Immediately after Jones’ sidelining, Minnesota’s offense lost its pulse. It could not affect anything positive with Jones on the shelf.
So, that scare tactic got the masses thinking about contingency plans, and thanks to The Purple Persuasion, a popular aggregator on X, there’s a new theory: firing off a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars for running back Travis Etienne.
TPP tweeted Monday, “Should the Vikings explore trading for Jaguars RB Travis Etienne as a depth piece behind RB Aaron Jones? Jones currently has a hip injury and has only played every game in a season twice in his career (on his 8th season). Chandler is a massive drop off from Jones and it showed in the Jets week 5 game.”
Regarding Jones’ injury severity, that’ll be revealed within the next week. Head coach Kevin O’Connell said about Jones’ hip after the dub, “Keeping my fingers crossed that hopefully will be short term.”
Before the injury, Jones tabulated 7 rushing attempts for 29 yards and 1 reception for 24 yards against New York. The offense wasn’t firing on all cylinders in London with Jones, but it assuredly faceplanted when he left the game. RB2 Ty Chandler entered the game, promptly fumbled, and didn’t do much thereafter.
Courtesy of Pro Football Talk, the early Jones update sounded rosier than O’Connell’s fingers-crossed diagnosis. “The veteran left Sunday’s 23-17 win over the Jets with a hip injury,” Mike Florio wrote late Sunday. “Initially, he was questionable to return. Then, he was ruled out. Initial word is that, by the time the Vikings return to action after their Week 6 bye, Jones should be good to go. They need him.”
On an Etienne contingency plan, well, it’d be wonderful. But two hurdles stand in the way:
The Jaguars have recently allotted more offensive attention to Etienne’s RB teammate Tank Bigsby — much to fantasy football managers’ chagrin — perhaps signaling a changing trend in Jacksonville.
Still, most of Minnesota’s 2025 draft class left the cabinet when the club traded for Dallas Turner five months ago. Heading into that draft, the Vikings will have a 1st-Rounder, eventually a compensatory 3rd, and two 5th-Rounders. And then that’s it.
Obviously, Etienne is intriguing, but unless the Jaguars would accept a 2026 draft pick — probably a 3rd- or 4th-Rounder — a trade isn’t terribly realistic.
A player like Miles Sanders on a Carolina Panthers roster welcoming back Jonathon Brooks might be more gettable.
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 Vikings 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.