Vikings RB Aaron Jones is ‘week to week’ with hip injury
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Vikings host the Detroit Lions on Oct. 20 at U.S. Bank Stadium coming out of their bye week.
It’s a huge match-up with the No. 1 spot in the NFC North Division on the line early in the season, and the Vikings don’t know if they’ll have running back Aaron Jones available. Jones had seven carries for 29 yards and one catch for 24 yards, from Nick Mullens, before having to leave Sunday’s win over the New York Jets in London with a right hip injury. Jones did not return.
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said Tuesday via Zoom he’s considering Jones "week to week." That puts his status for their return from the bye week against the Lions uncertain.
"All the early information so far, it looks like we’ve avoided a long-term injury," O’Connell said. ‘He’ll get treatment throughout this week.
On the season, Jones has 71 carries for 350 yards and one rushing touchdown. He also has 17 catches for 167 yards and one touchdown. When he left Sunday’s game, the offense went largely stagnant until Sam Darnold led a fourth quarter drive that resulted in a Will Reichard field goal and a 23-17 lead.
What it means
If Jones can’t return against the Lions, the running backs would be Ty Chandler and Myles Gaskin. Chandler had an early fumble on a pitch Sunday, and finished with 14 carries for 30 yards. Gaskin had two carries for two yards, and one catch for 11 yards.
The Vikings averaged just 2.7 yards per carry on Sunday. Chandler had two big gains, one for almost 30 yards, wiped away by penalties.
"I’ve got a lot of confidence in Ty, going back to last year when he really emerged for us like he did the second half of last season," O’Connell said. "Got a lot of confidence in Ty."
Bye week plans
The Vikings now get a very welcomed week off before hosting the Lions on Oct. 20. Many players use the time off to get away from football and get mental break. Some go on vacations. Others get treatment and rehab injuries.
The Vikings head to the L.A. Rams after the Lions for Thursday Night Football, which is a "mini bye" before closing out the regular season with 10 straight games.
"I do think it’s important for our staff and players to recharge. Really proud of these first five weeks, really proud of the results but it’s never really been about that. We’ve got to make sure we come back and stay true to the process and keep on chasing improvement," O’Connell said. "That’s going to be my job, to make sure I’m stressing that throughout the whole organization coming off this bye."