Will Vikings RB Aaron Jones play vs. Lions? Final injury report provides clarity, plus opportunities for rookies to step up
The final injury report for the Minnesota Vikings has been released and it provides clarity on multiple injuries. OLB Pat Jones II (knee): OutILB Kamu Grugier-Hill (illness): QuestionableCB Fabian Moreau (hip): Questionable Aaron Jones will play on Sunday night The biggest takeaway from the injury report is that running back Aaron Jones is off of […]
The final injury report for the Minnesota Vikings has been released and it provides clarity on multiple injuries.
- OLB Pat Jones II (knee): Out
- ILB Kamu Grugier-Hill (illness): Questionable
- CB Fabian Moreau (hip): Questionable
Aaron Jones will play on Sunday night
The biggest takeaway from the injury report is that running back Aaron Jones is off of the injury report and he will play on Sunday night. He suffered a thigh contusion against the Green Bay Packers when he got stepped on. While Jones did return to the game, the Vikings eventually did take him out and replaced him with Cam Akers.
Other than Jones, not having Pat Jones II will be a factor on Sunday. Jones does a lot of the dirty work on the pass rush, especially with the Vikings' NASCAR package with four edge rushers. Without him, that will offer the opportunity for multiple rookies to step up.
Dallas Turner will be getting more reps on Sunday night and he's played better as of late, including a sack against the Packers on Sunday.
"Dallas has really had a pretty significant role here for the better part of this nine game run we've been on," said O'Connell. "Felt his play style, energy, athleticism, and that's normal for a guy, especially at that position, as his rookie season is going on. I think the coaching has been tremendous from Flo (Brian Flores), Pat (Hill), Imarjaye (Albury). So I expect (Dallas) to be flying around, probably excited to go. And he's played in some big games before, so this will be nothing to him."
There will likely be two other rookies that will be a factor on Sunday night. Gabe Murphy will likely be elevated from the practice squad. The last game that Jones was out saw Murphy get activated and he played the role very well.
The other player that could see more defensive snaps is Bo Richter. Mainly a special teams player, Richter has seen some snaps on defense and played well when given the opportunity.
Sunday night's game will be huge and the Vikings will be ready for it.
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