Aaron Jones Forecasted for … America’s Team?
The Minnesota Vikings must decide to re-sign Aaron Jones within the next week or let him walk to open free agency.
Aaron Jones Forecasted for … America’s Team?
The 30-year-old tailback played quite well in Minnesota last season, his first outside the Green Bay Packers organization. He totaled over 1,500 yards from scrimmage and 7 touchdowns while playing all 17 games despite an “injury-prone” reputation.
And according to CBS Sports, an outfit that published a unique “free agency mock draft” this week, Jones will end up with the Dallas Cowboys, as Dallas’ proposed RB1 fix.
Cody Benjamin explained Jones to the Cowboys, “Reinforcing the line after Zack Martin’s retirement will be key. So will surrounding Dak Prescott with better multipurpose talent. Jones could be their discount version of the Eagles’ Saquon Barkley investment, fresh off a smooth one-year stint with the Vikings.”
For now, the Cowboys have one halfback under contract for 2025: Deuce Vaughn, who is more of a special teams commodity. Incumbent RB1 Rico Dowdle is scheduled to test free agency like Jones.
Meanwhile, Jones could still return to Minnesota. Thanks to some encouraging wording from head coach Kevin O’Connell, Jones may be back indeed. The team’s skipper recently spoke with KFAN’s Paul Allen, and his verbiage insinuated a second act for Jones in the Twin Cities.
“He very rarely gets tackled on first contact, he very rarely doesn’t find the yards that are there for him. And we’ve gotta continue to do a better job [of] creating more yards for him,” O’Connell opined.
O’Connell spoke with present and future tense — we’ve gotta continue to do a better job of creating more yards for him. A head coach probably wouldn’t say that if his player was a goner, en route to free agency and on deck to sign with another team.
Jones has also stated about four times that he would love to stay in the Twin Cities and even retire with the Vikings. His free agency might boil down to the cash — will he accept the top dollar offered by the Vikings or join a team like the Cowboys, as suggested in Benjamin’s free-agent mock draft?
If Jones bolts to Dallas or elsewhere, Minnesota would probably need a free-agent running back as a replacement, and these men could pique their interest:
- Javonte Williams
- Najee Harris
- Jaylen Warren
- Rico Dowdle
- J.K. Dobbins
Free agency gets underway on Monday with “legal tampering.”
Sportrac estimates Jones’ 2025 value at $5.6 million per year.
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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