Minnesota Vikings operating again Aaron Jones helped stabilize an ailing floor assault for the purple group in 2024.
Aaron Jones Forecasted for Candy New Deal
Earlier than his arrival, Minnesota ranked twenty seventh per speeding DVOA in 2022 and 2023, respectively, and the mark improved to No. 20 within the NFL final season. So, a seven-spot enchancment.
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Photos.
However Jones solely signed a one-year deal final offseason, which means he’s on deck to check free company in 18 days if the Vikings don’t re-sign him.
Effectively, in keeping with Bleacher Report, Jones’ subsequent deal might be a bit juicier than most count on, maybe three years and $21 million, says Alex Kay.
Kay wrote this week, “Expect Jones to net a similarly priced extension from the Vikings before then. Although a three-year deal would take him through his age-33 campaign, Minnesota’s brass can give itself outs in the contract while keeping the door open for Jones to stay if he continues to play at a high level. Best Fit: Minnesota Vikings.”
If Jones returns in any respect, most Vikings followers have envisioned a one-year deal for Jones due to his age. He’ll flip 31 in December, which is considerably historic for a bellcow RB1.
Jeremy Reper-Imagn Photos.
“The Vikings received a great return on their one-year, $7 million investment. They can now look to shore up their backfield for the next few years knowing Jones still has plenty left in the tank. The writing is on the wall for Jones to return to Minnesota in 2025,” Kay added.
Why is the writing on the wall? Easy — the Vikings prolonged Jones’ void deadline final weekend, pushing the choice a bit into the long run. ESPN’s Subject Yates tweeted, “The Vikings and RB Aaron Jones agreed to move the void date on his contract from this Monday until the final day before free agency. If Jones had not been extended by Monday, the team would have taken on $3.2M in dead money in 2025. This expands the window for Jones and Minnesota to continue to negotiate a new deal that would avoid that amount hitting the cap in full for 2025.”
Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Photos.
An analogous process was utilized in 2023 with defensive deal with Dalvin Tomlinson, though he finally departed the franchise and joined the Cleveland Browns.
“It doesn’t guarantee a new deal will be reached, but it buys time for both sides if there is interest in hammering one out before free agency,” Yates added.
Jones banked over 1,500 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns in 2024, a implausible stat line for a 30-year-old runner. The ex-Inexperienced Bay Packer had one of many busiest seasons of his profession per workload and performed all 17 video games regardless of an “injury-prone” designation over the previous few years. Jones’ was at his 2024 peak within the first 5 or so video games of the 12 months, tailing off a bit down the stretch, however he didn’t miss any time on a group that desperately wanted to fix its speeding offense.
So, because it appears doubtless that Minnesota will re-up with Jones’ companies in 2025, the BR reporting suggests multiple 12 months might be on the desk.
Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Photos.
It’s value noting that Minnesota might additionally draft a operating again in April — along with re-signing Jones. This 12 months’s crop is remarkably deep at operating again.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the College of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his each day YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The present options company, evaluation, and opinion on all issues associated to the purple group, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates again to 1996. Listed responsible pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doorways (the band). He follows the NBA as carefully because the NFL.
All statistics offered by Professional Soccer Reference / Stathead; all contractual data offered by OverTheCap.com.
