The Minnesota Vikings got through Week 2 by leaning hard on Aaron Jones, but the way they got there was a warning sign all by itself.
With Jordan Mason on injured reserve and rain pounding down in Chicago, Minnesota beat the Bears 9-3 by giving Jones the ball 23 times. That was his most carries since Nov. 2022 and the most he has ever handled in a Vikings uniform.
It was also a heavy lift in every sense. The 31-year-old absorbed punishment throughout the game, including a helmet-to-helmet hit in the fourth quarter that should have been flagged and wasn’t.
He also took on most of the blocking work in the backfield.
For one afternoon, Jones handled it. He finished with 105 rushing yards on 4.6 yards per carry, and the Vikings walked out of Chicago with an unexpected win that left them 2-0 and in control of the NFC North. But Minnesota doesn’t sound interested in pretending that plan can last.
On Monday, head coach Kevin O’Connell said he and general manager Nolan Teasley will talk through how to address the running back situation.
KOC: “Yeah, we’re going to take a look at that. Nolan [Teasley] and I, we’re having some conversation right now what the plan looks like for the week and obviously navigating this time while [Jordan Mason is] down.
So, we’ll keep you posted on the plan for Aaron, obviously what that looks like and how sustainable that is. He is a guy that clearly you know we have a lot of confidence in, but we want to be smart about it as well.
That line reads like a team that knows it can’t keep asking Jones to carry the offense this way. Mason is expected to miss at least three more weeks, and the Vikings need someone who can take real snaps off Jones’ plate.
The problem is that the current group hasn’t shown much reason for trust. In Week 2, Jones played 42 snaps, DeeJay Dallas played 8, and sixth-round pick Demond Claiborne saw only 2. Fullback Max Bredeson also got involved, logging 17 offensive snaps.
Matthew Coller, who covers the Vikings independently through his PurpleInsider.football Substack and Purple Insider podcast, took O’Connell’s comments as a sign that Minnesota may spend part of the week exploring the trade market.
“Aaron Jones [is] just carrying way too much of the workload. And Kevin O’Connell said today that he and Nolan Teasley are ‘going to take a really good look at this’. And to me, that meant ‘we’ll see if we can acquire another running back potentially who can actually carry the ball.’
DJ Dallas was in for pass protection. Kind of got wrecked on one play, but you know, did his best.
[He] had a couple of carries, which were fine. But it’s pretty clear that [the Vikings] don’t think DJ Dallas is a guy that they could just give the ball to over and over again.
And it’s also pretty clear that they don’t trust Demond Claiborne.”
“So, I wouldn’t be surprised if Jerome Ford ends up getting the call or if they’re making phone calls around the league to see if there’s somebody who will trade them a running back to get in there because that’s just way too much for Aaron Jones.”
There’s also the quarterback angle. Getting Kyler Murray back this week should help the offense overall, Jones included, but it doesn’t solve the depth issue behind him.
The Vikings clearly used Jones as the answer in Chicago because they had no other option. That much was obvious.
Now the question is whether they can find a better one before Jones is asked to do it all again.
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