The Vikings are placing RB Aaron Jones on IR for the hamstring injury that knocked him out of Sunday night's loss to the Falcons. That means Jones will miss at least the next four games. That's particularly notable because the four games span across the Week 5 bye. The team was also already missing RB Ty Chandler (on IR with a knee injury).
2025 Fantasy Football Impact
The decision -- and those circumstances I mentioned -- obviously speak to the severity of Jones' injury. We'll have to see whether he only misses the four required games or remains on the sideline longer.
Jordan Mason obviously takes over as the lead back for as long as Jones is out.
Mason has logged 24 carries (to Jones' 13) through two weeks. He leads Jones in multiple categories, including advanced efficiency metrics such as:
- Next Gen Stats' rush yards over expected per attempt (0.6 to minus-0.58)
- Pro Football Reference's rushing success rate (54.2% to 46.2%)
- Pro Football Focus' yards after contact per attempt (3.92 to 2.54)
Mason also figures to see more receiving work going forward after tallying just four targets through two weeks (same as Jones).
The next three weeks hold non-scary matchups with the Bengals, Steelers, and Browns, followed by the Week 6 bye.
Zavier Scott sits behind Mason on the depth chart. He spent last year on Minnesota's practice squad after a year on the Colts' practice squad. Scott spent time at RB and WR in college before arriving as an undrafted free agent.
The Vikings are also bringing RB Cam Akers back to the practice squad. We'll see how soon he hits the gameday roster.
Neither Scott nor Akers looks especially interesting for fantasy purposes. Jones is worth hanging on to if you can spare the roster spot.