Aaron Jones says the knee that sent him to the sideline against the Colts was not as bad as it first looked. “Feeling better than I was. I’ll be ready to go,” the Minnesota Vikings running back said this week. On Friday, the Vikings took him off the injury report without a game status, so he is set to play when the 6-0 Vikings visit the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
Jones aggravated a knee injury in last Sunday’s 16-10 win over Indianapolis, when he ran eight times for 26 yards. He missed practice on Wednesday, was limited on Thursday and practiced fully on Friday. “Just got banged up a little bit,” he said. “There’s just a little bruise, and somebody lands on it, can hurt a little bit. It can heat up.”
“I was nervous”
Asked if he knew right away that he would be all right, Jones admitted he did not. “I was nervous. I didn’t know what it was exactly at first,” he said. “I knew it was my MCL. But once I was able to let it calm down a little bit, and then seeing the play, I knew it was seeing exactly what it was, and it didn’t do anything worse or make it any worse.”
He has played through the knee problem for weeks. Through six games, Jones has 436 rushing yards on 105 carries, 4.2 yards per carry, with two touchdowns. Asked why he keeps going when others might ask to be shut down for four weeks, he said: “I love to play football. I think it’s just that simple. It hurt me more to sit there and watch.” He added that he knows “that I’m still capable of producing.”
“The best ability is availability”
Jones said practice helps him decide each week. Getting live reps and cutting “really prepares me for the game or allows me to hear my body, listen to my body if I’m able to go or if I’m not or if I’m feeling something,” he said. “And if I am, I go communicate it with the trainers and we get on it.” He also takes care of his body away from the facility. “The best ability is availability,” he said. “So I’m just trying to stay available.”
Jordan Mason came off injured reserve last week, but Jones said a deeper backfield does not change how he approaches it. “My mentality never changes. If I feel like I can play, I’m going to play. If I have to fight through something, I’m going to fight through something,” he said. “It’s something that sticks with me, and I think that’s what is helping me get this far.” With 11 games left, he looked further ahead: “Hopefully in an ideal world, there might be another 14 or 15 games. We’re going to speak those 14 and 15 into existence.”
Kyler Murray and the speed option
Jones was also asked about the speed option with quarterback Kyler Murray. “I love the speed option,” he said. “The quarterback is unaccounted for one, and then you put pressure on the defense. They have to make a decision quick. If you’re going to take the quarterback, the back’s going to be open.” But he does not want it to become a big part of the plan. “I guess you can call it a couple of times a game, but I wouldn’t say like 20 times a game,” he said. “You don’t want Kyler running the ball that much,” or taking “those kind of shots.”
He said Murray’s legs will be “huge” for the offense. “He’s slippery. He can improvise plays,” Jones said, adding that Murray extends plays out of the pocket and gives the Vikings “other chances at explosives.” He said the running backs ask Murray what he wants when he scrambles, and he tells them his cues. “The play’s never dead,” Jones said. A receiver who “could have been the last person” in the progression can end up “being the first person that he sees” once Murray scrambles.
“They blow their doors off of that stadium”
Jones has played in Detroit many times, first with the Green Bay Packers and now with Minnesota, and he said Ford Field has changed. “They used to say, oh, you got to bring your juice when you come. It’s not a lot of energy,” he said. Now “they blow their doors off of that stadium and it’s a lot of electricity. It’s loud in there for opposing offenses.” He said the Vikings will have to communicate, “non-verbal or verbal,” and execute. “It’s a fun place to play, and we always look forward to those division games,” he said. “I’ve been in the division so long, so always get up for these games.”
The Vikings play the 4-2 Lions on Sunday, November 1, at 1:00 p.m. ET, which is 8:00 p.m. in Cairo.
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