Kevin O’Connell Updates Aaron Jones’ Injury Status
It will remain a coin flip.
Kevin O’Connell Updates Aaron Jones’ Injury Status
That’s the takeaway from Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell’s words on running back Aaron Jones’ status for Sunday’s game between Minnesota and the Detroit Lions.
“Aaron is going to progress throughout the week and hopefully has a chance to go on Sunday,” O’Connell told reporters.
Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah also 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.
The move raised some eyebrows from fans, though O’Connell batted away any replacement theories. “Has no bearing on our current running back situation,” the young head coach said about the Akers trade regarding Jones’ health.
“Cam has looked really good, whether it was the early reps in preseason with the Texans or scoring against us when we played. Cam’s been somebody that we didn’t necessarily want to let go to somebody else last offseason, but good football players, that tends to happen. Want to credit Kwesi and his guys for getting a deal done to get Cam back here, really as a depth move.”
On paper, the Vikings might need every ounce of Jones’ skill set to take down the Detroit Lions this weekend. When Jones hit the sidelines 10 days ago against the New York Jets in London, the offense faceplanted. Fans have monitored his recovery status intently as a result.
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.”
NFL Network’s Tom Pelisserso tweeted before O’Connell’s press conference that Akers wasn’t added as a Jones contingency plan. Pelissero wrote Tuesday, “The Vikings trade for Cam Akers isn’t a reflection of any long-term concerns with RB Aaron Jones, who could play Sunday. Just another quality RB who knows the system going back to his days with Kevin O’Connell in L.A.”
On the whole, Jones’ status is considered week-to-week. Friday will be the climax when Minnesota releases its final Week 7 injury report.
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.
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