During the Minnesota Vikings’ Week 5 contest against the New York Jets, running back Aaron Jones tweaked his hamstring performing pregame warmups and then suffered a hip injury during the contest. As a result, Jones only had seven carries, while Ty Chandler rushed the ball 14 times.
Fortunately, the bye week came at the perfect time for Jones, and he played in the Vikings’ Week 7 matchup against the Detroit Lions. However, he remains limited in practice due to the hamstring injury. With the Vikings on a short week, will Jones be able to play in Week 8 against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday? Here’s the latest on Jones’ status.
Will Aaron Jones Play in Week 8?
After Week 5, Jones seemed likely to miss time due to his hamstring and hip injuries, as he was labeled “week to week.” However, after resting during the Week 6 bye, he managed to play against the Lions and deliver one of his best games of the season.
Jones looked terrific against Detroit, rushing 14 times for 93 yards and one touchdown and catching three passes for 23 yards. In fact, his 6.6 yards per attempt was his second-best mark of the season behind only Week 1, when he averaged 6.7 yards per carry against the New York Giants.
Jones’ strong performance likely removed any concern about his hamstring going forward, but it’s worth noting that he was limited in practice on Monday and Tuesday. However, Jones was able to get in a full practice on Wednesday, and he doesn’t have an injury designation for Thursday’s game against the Rams.
#Vikings RB Aaron Jones said his hamstring injury is “not so much of a concern” in the long run:
“I feel like I will be back to normal. I don’t feel like this is something I will continue to have to manage.”
🎥: @Vikings YouTube pic.twitter.com/CZKe4vSG2W
— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) October 22, 2024
This lines up with what Jones recently told reporters, as he said his hamstring gave him “no problems” in Week 7 and described it as “not so much of a concern” long-term.
When asked if he’ll need to manage this injury throughout the rest of the season, Jones responded: “I feel like I will be back to normal. I don’t feel like this is something I will continue to have to manage.”
Jones is good to go against the Rams in Week 8. Nonetheless, keep an eye on the Vikings’ injury report to make sure he doesn’t experience a setback of any kind.
Fantasy Outlook for Jones and the Vikings’ Backfield
We weren’t 100% sure that Jones would give it a go in Week 7. Any concerns about his health were dashed after exactly one carry, as his first touch was a 34-yard score.
The big week resulted in Jones’ fourth game returning starting value to his fantasy managers, and that’s more than enough of a résumé to play him with confidence against the Rams’ fourth-worst rush defense by EPA in the league.
Quick touchdown for Aaron Jones and the @Vikings!
🎥: @NFL pic.twitter.com/PSk8OPCrHR
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) October 20, 2024
Four times this season, a running back has produced at least 24% over expectation against Los Angeles: David Montgomery, Josh Jacobs, James Conner, and D’Andre Swift.
With Jones pacing for his best boom/bust season since 2018 (the difference in the percentage of carries that gain at least 10 yards with the ones that don’t get past the line of scrimmage), he’s flirting with top-15 status, assuming no lasting health concerns.
As for the rest of the Vikings’ backfield, Chandler and Cam Akers aren’t fantasy-relevant as long as Jones is healthy.
Chandler seems like the RB2 behind Jones, but he didn’t do much with his 14 carries in Week 5, finishing with just 30 rushing yards (2.1 yards per attempt). On the season, Chandler has 44 carries for 151 yards (3.4 yards per attempt) and zero scores.
The Vikings sent a 2026 conditional sixth-round pick to the Houston Texans in exchange for Akers and a 2026 conditional seventh-round pick.
However, it seems like Minnesota views Akers as more of a depth piece.