Aaron Jones Showed Up Too Soon
One of the greatest concerns in bringing back veteran Aaron Jones this season was his potential health. Despite a litany of injury concerns over the course of his career, he largely avoided that bug a season ago. Expecting that to happen again this year was a dance with the Devil.
An Aaron Jones injury has put the Minnesota Vikings running back room in a tough spot, and this outcome was all too predictable this season.
In part, that’s why the Minnesota Vikings went out and traded for Jordan Mason. The former San Francisco 49ers running back gave Kevin O’Connell a two-headed attack. Mason is a bigger bruiser than Jones and should be more capable of grinding out short-yardage situations.
Aaron Jones’ Health Is an Issue Once Again
So far, we have seen that bear fruit. Mason and Jones have worked well in tandem, and the two of them provide a strong two-headed monster for the Vikings. Mason has proven capable of being the lead back in the absence of Christian McCaffrey, and now it seems he’ll need to do the same with Jones nursing a hamstring injury for the Vikings.
With things at their best, Minnesota could turn to both Jones and Mason in differing capacities. Jones is a good receiver who, despite his age, still shows burst on the ground. Mason brings the boom and can thrive between the tackles. With Jones shelved, that tandem takes on a different look.
It seems all but certain that the Vikings need to bring in an additional running back. Ty Chandler was added to injured reserve after the Week 1 win against the Chicago Bears. Zavier Scott returned to practice and the roster in a full capacity this week, but that would be just a veteran and an undrafted free agent as options.
Of course, we have seen the Vikings turn to the same veteran back, Cam Akers, each of the past two seasons. He is again available and this time remains on the open market. Rather than needing to swing a trade, it’s plausible that general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah just makes a phone call with a contract offer in hand. Minnesota did precisely that on Tuesday, signing Akers to the practice squad.
At the end of the day, though, an injury to Aaron Jones seemed all too predictable this season. For it to happen this early is an unfortunate outcome and one that only makes Minnesota’s problems larger.
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