Vikings’ Aaron Jones returns to practice, could play Thursday night vs. Chargers

The Vikings offense returned a team captain at Tuesday’s practice.

Running back Aaron Jones‘ three-week practice window has officially started while on injured reserve. He’s eligible to play on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Chargers if he’s cleared by the medical and coaching staffs while recovering from a hamstring injury. His practice reps were limited on Tuesday.

Coach Kevin O’Connell said the Vikings don’t need to test Jones too much “because of his rehab and the work he’s done on the side fields. He’s a veteran player. He knows what he has to do. He knows what he needs to feel like.”

Jones, who turns 31 years old on Dec. 2, has missed the last four games after leaving the Sept. 14 loss to the Falcons in the third quarter with the muscle strain. He started the Vikings’ first two games ahead of Jordan Mason, but Mason has led the team in rushing yards each week.

Entering the season, coaches envisioned Jones having a larger role in the receiving game. He turned three passes into 44 yards and a touchdown in the Sept. 8 win in Chicago. On the ground, he has taken 13 carries for 46 rushing yards.

The Vikings offense ranks 17th in rushing with 4.4 yards per carry, led by Mason’s 84 carries for 380 yards (a 4.5-yard average). The Chargers have struggled to stop the run this season, ranking 28th while giving up 5.1 yards per carry.

Jones is among nine key Vikings contributors, including linebacker Blake Cashman, outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, center Ryan Kelly and safety Harrison Smith, who have missed multiple games due to injury or illness.

Quarterback Carson Wentz (left shoulder) took every rep, while quarterback J.J. McCarthy (right ankle) remained limited.

Van Ginkel also remained limited in a fourth consecutive practice after returning last week. He last played in the Sept. 21 win over the Bengals as he’s dealt with a lingering neck injury he’s had since at least August.

Receiver Justin Jefferson reiterated Tuesday that he’s put up his own boundaries on social media sites like Instagram, where he has nearly two million followers, following cornerback Isaiah Rodgers sharing racist harassment he received from fans in the hours after Sunday’s loss to the Eagles.

Jefferson, who has nearly 318,000 followers on X, said he turned off his direct messages.

“People don’t really have a filter or people don’t really care about your emotions or care about how you’re feeling,” Jefferson said. “That’s definitely something that’s tough to deal with, but I kind of helped my way into limiting those comments. There’s different ways of keeping those comments away from your visual, even if you have to restrict some of the comments, some of the words they might say. I’ve turned my messages off. You can’t even DM me.”

“My opportunities are very slim, especially in the red zone,” Jefferson said. “I don’t really get those man-to-man coverages like that. It definitely haunted me that Sunday night, just looking back at the play and seeing the replay, seeing that I could’ve controlled the ball all the way through and letting him really hit the ball out of my hands.”

“Getting back in the end zone,” said Jefferson, who has one touchdown catch in six games, “is definitely something I’m trying to fix.”