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Jones was working through a knee injury after carrying the ball 23 times for 105 yards against Chicago, the most carries he's had in a game since Nov. 13, 2022.
EAGAN, Minn. — Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones Sr. had no injury designation on Friday, but rookie punter Brett Thorson was ruled out for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay.
Jones has been working through a knee injury after carrying the ball 23 times for 105 yards against Chicago, the most carries he's had in a single game since Nov. 13, 2022.
"He turned over, kind of what we thought would be the case throughout the week, and got a good day in today," Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said Friday. "We feel good about him being ready to roll."
The Vikings placed Jordan Mason on injured reserve last week, so having Jones in the backfield is a major boost to a rushing attack that has taken on a bigger role within the offense this season. Minnesota has rushed the ball 55.4% of the offensive snaps this season, after running just 43% of the time in 2025 and 43.4% in 2024.
Veteran punter Johnny Hekker is expected to make his Vikings debut after signing this week following Thorson's injury. Hekker, a four-time first-team All-Pro, was released during the team's final cuts after averaging 48.2 yards per punt, with a long of 57 yards during preseason. Hekker has averaged 46.8 yards per punt over his 14-year career, with 42.6 net yards per punt.
O'Connell didn't rule out putting Thorson on the IR, but said, as of Friday, he doesn't believe they will need to.
"We'll kind of take it week-in and week-out," O'Connell said. "Don't want to say no at this point just because we want to make sure that that injury can heal, especially with a punter."
