Green Bay Packers RB Aaron Jones missed Week 2 with a hamstring injury, and he started this week with a missed practice. Will Jones play today? Fantasy football managers have been sweating the status of Jones all week, so let’s get into the latest injury news.
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Editor’s Note: Aaron Jones is inactive for the Packers’ Week 3 game.
Is Aaron Jones Going To Play Week 3?
Jones, as mentioned, missed Week 2 versus the Atlanta Falcons. However, despite not practicing on Wednesday, he logged limited practices on Thursday and Friday.
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The Packers have been keeping the injury news of Jones — and Christian Watson — close to their chest this week. There has been very little news leaked to the media this week regarding the status of Jones, other than the fact he is officially listed as questionable.
However, the Packers made some roster moves yesterday that might give us some insight into the current status of Jones. RB Patrick Taylor was activated from the Packers’ practice squad yesterday. The Packers did this last week when Jones missed the game.
At this moment, Jones is a game-time decision. However, it could appear that, with that roster move, he is trending more towards not playing than playing at the moment.
So, what does this mean for Jones, and what should fantasy managers do?
What Does This Mean for Jones’ Outlook?
Jones is, at best, a game-time decision today. The good news for fantasy managers is that the Packers play in the early slate of games. So, you will have time to pivot and put in a replacement without worry and other games kicking off.
According to the PFN Consensus Rankings, Jones is the RB23 in this week’s rankings currently. He was the RB1 overall in Week 1 with an outstanding performance against the Chicago Bears. However, having missed Week 2, he has slipped down to RB17.
The Packers play the New Orleans Saints today. The Saints are averaging 102 rushing yards allowed through the first two weeks of the season, at 5 yards per attempt. However, they are yet to give up a rushing touchdown in 2023.
This matchup is not as kind for Jones as the one in Week 1 vs. the Bears. However, it is not a matchup fantasy managers should fear if Jones is injury-free and good to go.
The concern is whether he will resume a full workload or will be on a snap count. I would assume that if Jones is declared fit to play, he will play in his usual role. The Packers play with two excellent running backs who split the work. In his RB1 overall performance in Week 1, Jones played just 47% of the snaps.
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Therefore, fantasy managers should not worry about a snap-count restriction. He plays on one most weeks as it is. If Jones gets the go-ahead to play today, fantasy managers should feel confident in starting him. There might be some lowered expectations due to injury. However, Jones should comfortably finish in the top 24 running backs this week should he start.
Should he not play versus the Saints, fantasy managers should look to start Brian Robinson Jr., who is currently the RB3 overall in PPR scoring.
Other options include Zack Moss, Gus Edwards (who does not have Justice Hill vulturing touches from him today), Jerome Ford (who steps into the lead role in Cleveland after the season-ending injury to Nick Chubb), or Tyler Allgeier.