Minnesota dropped a tough loss in primetime in Week 2’s ‘Sunday Night Football’ game against the Atlanta Falcons. The Vikings’ home opener didn’t go to plan as the offense struggled, especially on the ground with just 78 rushing yards.
They’ll have to improve that without their leading rusher from last season.
Minnesota’s placed running back Aaron Jones Sr. on injured reserve, per multiple reports. Jones was injured during Sunday night’s loss and missed the rest of the game.
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said after the game that Jones would miss Minnesota’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3. Moving him to injured reserve (IR) keeps him out for longer than that.
He’ll miss at least four games, as is the rule for moving players to IR.
Jones hasn’t been the team’s most productive running back so far in 2025. That title’s gone to offseason acquisition Jordan Mason, the former San Francisco 49ers running back. Mason out-carried Jones 15 to eight in the season opener with 68 rushing yards to Jones’ 23.
Mason will now take on a larger role. With that injury sidelining Jones for the next month at least, the team also signed veteran running back Cam Akers to the practice squad, per reports.
This is the latest high-profile injury for the Vikings. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy will be out two to four weeks with a high ankle sprain. That means backup Carson Wentz could be handing the ball off to Mason through the end of September.
Vikings RB depth chart
Mason’s production so far in 2025 softens the blow of losing Jones for the short term. Here’s how the rest of the depth chart looks at the position:
Aaron Jones Sr. (injured)
Jordan Mason
Ty Chandler
Zavier Scott
The team also had Xazavian Valladay signed to the practice squad before the Akers signing.