Hip or hamstring? Confusion swirls over Vikings Aaron Jones’ injury, status for Week 7 vs. Lions

Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones was tending to a hip injury during the team’s bye week. The veteran was listed with a new, much more concerning issue on Wednesay’s practice report .

Jones was listed as a non-participant with a hamstring injury. That, combined with the team trading for running back Cam Akers on Tuesday, has led to serious doubt about his availability for Sunday’s huge NFC North game against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Jones exited Minnesota’s Week 4 game against the New York Jets in London with what was called a hip injury. He was unable to return after halftime, but head coach Kevin O’Connell implied after the game that the injury was minor. There was hope, coming out of the bye week, that Jones would be ready to go against the Lions.

In his media availability on Wednesday, Jones said he wasn’t sure about his status for Sunday. When describing the injury, he mentions he first felt it while getting into a stretch during pregame warmups:

Minnesota’s practice report was posted later in the afternoon, with Jones listed as a DNP with a hamstring, an injury that typically takes multiple weeks to heal. The hip injury from Week 4 was not included on the first official report of the week.

The timing of Tuesday’s trade, with Akers’ direct knowledge of the offense not only from his time in Minnesota last season, but his time with O’Connell in Los Angeles, suddenly feels more meaningful than simply adding running back depth.

Jones said he would try to practice on Thursday, but unless this new hamstring issue was a typo, it sure feels like he’s on the wrong side of questionable at this point.

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