Aaron Jones Is Excited about One Vikings Teammate in Particular
Entering his second year with the Vikings, Aaron Jones stopped by Good Morning Football on NFL Network to talk about going on a USO Tour to Kuwait to the base his parents served at while they were in the military.
Aaron Jones Is Excited about One Vikings Teammate in Particular
He talked about visiting with the troops and their struggles with being overseas when some of the biggest family moments happen. Jones has always been known as an outstanding person in the communities he has lived in, giving a lot of time to events and organizations.
Before they started talking to Aaron about his community efforts, he was asked about starting his second year with “The Purple.” Jones said he finally unpacked his bags since he had only been there for nine months and understood how things could change. After spending eight years in Green Bay, he used his experience as an “army brat” to help him get used to a new home. Aaron says this year feels a lot different as he feels more comfortable in the community.
This year, he understands the intricacies of the team better. The next question asked him to give his argument as to why J.J. McCarthy is the guy to lead the team. Aaron gave them a direct answer.
“JJ’s a winner!”
He expounded on that, telling the audience to look at JJ’s career and pointed out he has only lost one game in high school and college.
“He was ballin’. The preseason he ended up getting hurt, unfortunately … I think it might have been a quarterback battle if he didn’t get hurt.”
You might feel that’s a pretty flippant statement from a teammate, but I think it speaks volumes to JJ as a player. Jones is a veteran who has played with one of the best quarterbacks to ever hit the field, Aaron Rodgers. Add in that Sam Darnold had the best year of his career, along with Jones having the best rushing total of his career. Not many teammates would look at a young player and find out how many games he had ever lost.
Jones continued, “He’s a competitor. He wants to be great. And he’s hungry, and I think you’ll see it when he steps on the field. … He’s very methodical in everything he does.”
Again, you could just brush this off as Jones being a good teammate and giving as much praise as he can to a guy that played part of one preseason game before his meniscus injury ended his season.
It was the next thing he said that really caught my ear: “He compiles a list of all the defensive players throughout the league and, like ranks them with stars. … I’m excited to even be in the backfield with him!”
Normally, the “team speak” would be more subdued or very generalized about him just being there “to support him and help the team be better.” You know, the vanilla answers players throw out to placate the interviewers without saying anything damaging.
But Jones was very forthright and sincere in his evaluation and excitement to play with McCarthy as his quarterback.
That’s the kind of praise most veterans would give if they were going to a team with a Hall of Fame quarterback on the roster not heading into the second year after an injury with a mostly unknown commodity. Jones was definitely excited.
From most interviews I’ve heard — even before he was drafted last year — McCarthy seems to have a level of maturity that surprises people. His mentality of absorbing anything and everything impresses players and coaches alike.
We’ve heard so many times that even during his rehab, McCarthy was in meetings with not only the offense but also the defensive team, trying to learn as much as possible. Doing this while also rehabbing seemed to stick with a lot of the guys. It’s not considered normal, even with veteran players. It’s what a true leader does, though, to show he’s invested in the team and not just himself.
As much as I fight the urge to be overly excited about how well he’ll do in the NFL, it gets more difficult as stories like this get told. I’m an optimist, but I’ve also been burned enough over the years to know that I won’t believe the Vikings have won a Super Bowl until they get there and the clock is all zeroes with them having the lead. Hell, it might not even seem real until I see the commercial to buy the merchandise that is always in the first commercial break.
But man, hearing these stories makes me believe we’ve got “the one” to take the Vikings all the way in the next few years. The more veteran players and coaches speak sincerely to McCarthy’s attitude and drive, the more you know it isn’t merely lip service. It’s genuine excitement.
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