Vikings Shrug Off Main Injury Concern, Extinguish Hope for Young Lad Playing

The Vikings shrugged off the Aaron Jones concern. How so? Simply by failing to list him with an injury designation moving into Week 3,

The availability (or lack thereof) of Minnesota’s veteran RB1 had been a focus through the week due to his hearty workload in Week 2. The team’s injury report had been listing him, creating some doubt along the way. Afterwards, the runner was feeling sore, leading to some roster maintenance to shore up the depth.

He’s not on the injury report any longer, meaning the Vikings will be rallying around Aaron Jones yet again to be the workhorse.

What’s discouraging is that a different player isn’t available: rookie punter Brett Thorson. To replace the Australian young fella, the Vikings will turn toward Johnny Hekker, the accomplished veteran who had been competing for a specialist spot on Minnesota’s offseason roster.

Otherwise, the only other injury is to backup center Nick Samac, meaning the C2 job likely belongs to Joe Huber.

The Vikings Shrug Off RB1 Concern, List P1 as Out

Last week, Aaron Jones more than earned his paycheck.

Minnesota stuffed the ball into his hands 23 times. By the end of the day, Jones had gone for 105 yards, working out to a healthy 4.6 yards-per-carry average. His most explosive carry went for 20 yards. Nobody watches him and thinks back to prime Chris Johnson or Adrian Peterson. What he can offer, though, is consistent production and tough yards. Few are as patient and boast the vision that he does.

The solid veteran, in short, offered a rock solid day. Minnesota will want more of that in Week 3.

Meanwhile, Thorson is going to get the chance to rest for another week.

Being able to lean on Hekker as a replacement is a nice luxury. He already knows the system since he spent the offseason in Minnesota. Better yet, he’s got built-in chemistry working with Andrew DePaola and Will Reichard, so the operation should be clean on field goal.

The Vikings appear likely need to shuffle a decent workload onto Kyler Murray’s shoulders. Last week, Carson Wentz completed just 11 passes but that’s not a sustainable approach. Rather, that was in response to some brutal weather in The Windy City.

On Sunday, the Vikings will want to ignite the passing attack while still maintaining a commitment to the ground game. The point is being multiple and tough to predict, unable to be shutdown and fully neutralized if one part of the attack isn’t working. Arriving at better rhythm on offense is going to be key going forward.

A talking point all week has been on the desperation that Tampa Bay is going to play with as they look to avoid dropping down to 0-3. Maybe the key to pulling off the win against an ultra motivated crew is to withstand an early onslaught while trying to settle into the game. Slowing things down by picking up first downs and controlling the clock in a methodical manner could therefore be the way to go in the 1st quarter.

Note that Tampa Bay will be without edge rusher Rueben Bain and linebacker Josiah Trotter. Losing those two will mean that Aaron Jones has a better shot at another productive day at the office.

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