A chest injury that sent Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones to the locker room on a cart couldn’t keep him out of the finish of Minnesota’s Week 10 12-7 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday. Here’s everything we know about Jones’ injury.
What Happened to Aaron Jones?
Jones was hurt while being tackled by Travon Walker and Foye Oluokun on a seven-yard first-down run, taking a direct shot to the ribs.
Aaron Jones #vikings
Takes a big shot the right right side of his ribs. Was holding his ribs and went to the ground. Hopefully not a fracture but looks like he’s in a lot of pain pic.twitter.com/TgRKvCHeag
— Tom Christ, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT (@FantasyInjuryT) November 10, 2024
Jones stayed down for a moment before heading straight to the blue medical tent for further evaluation.
Cam Akers briefly replaced him in the Vikings lineup.
Did Jones Return to the Game?
Jones got hurt on his 13th carry of the game. He had 71 yards rushing and 13 yards receiving at that point. The Vikings were driving down 7-3 when he got hurt.
Jones had been relatively durable up to this point in his first year with the Vikings. He has appeared in all nine games for Minnesota this year and entered Week 10 as the team leader in carries (125), rushing yards (565), and rushing touchdowns (2).
After emerging from the tent, Jones tried to test whatever was bothering him by jogging on the sideline. Ultimately, the Vikings’ medical staff elected to send him to the locker room on a cart, possibly for X-rays.
He ultimately not only emerged from the locker room, but returned to the game. Jones finished the contest with 17 carries for 88 yards as well as two receptions for 13 yards.
After the game, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell provided an update on his running back’s status.
“Aaron Jones was just evaluated for some ribs, but did return,” O’Connell said. “He took a hit right there and was able to tough it out and come back.
“I’m sure he’ll get checked out. Tough player, but he was able to kind of get his wind back. It was one of those things, and once he was able to go, he was itching to get back in there.”
While Jones has played in every game this season, he did miss six regular-season games with hamstring and knee injuries in 2023. Fortunately, he has had better injury luck this year.