The Minnesota Vikings are 6-0 after a 16-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, but the win left them with an injury question at running back.
Aaron Jones Sr. left in the fourth quarter after taking a hit to his left knee at the end of a 17-yard run, his longest of the day. He went straight to the blue tent, did not return, and was scheduled for an MRI on Monday.
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That is the same knee Jones has been playing through since Week 2. On Monday, the Vikings got their first real update on how much damage Sunday’s hit did.
According to Adam Schefter (ESPN), the knee injury is “not considered significant at this time”, tweeting out that a source described Jones as day to day.
The source must’ve been good because “that’s “day-to-day was the exact phrase Kevin O’Connell used with reporters Monday during his virtual press conference. Outside of the Jones update, the Vikings came out of Week 7 “relatively clean”.
Vikings RB Aaron Jones’ knee injury that he suffered during Sunday’s win over the Colts is not considered to be significant at this time, and a source described him as “day to day.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 26, 2026
Aaron Jones is day-to-day with the knee injury he aggravated on Sunday, Kevin O’Connell said. Otherwise, the Vikings came out of the game relatively clean injury-wise, he said.
— Ben Goessling (@BenGoessling) October 26, 2026
Related: What We Learned From Underwhelming MN Vikings Victory vs Colts
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Jones sprained his left MCL in Week 2 against the Chicago Bears, a game in which he ran for 105 yards on 23 carries. He has not missed a game since. Through six games, he has 436 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 105 carries (4.2 yards per carry), plus 13 catches for 72 yards.
His best game came in Week 5 at New Orleans, when he ran for 113 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. Sunday was his quietest day of the season, with 26 yards on eight carries before the injury.
Despite Jones’ knee concerns and recent rumors that the Minnesota Vikings are targeting running backs before the trade deadline, O’Connell said that he does not see running back depth as an issue, but will meet with general manager Nolan Teasley this week as he always does.
Here’s Kevin O’Connell on whether or not the Vikings have a depth issue at running back this week, given Aaron Jones’ “Day-to-Day” status (knee)…”With where Aaron’s at and where we feel coming out of the game, don’t necessarily see it as a depth issue at all. But obviously, things could change as we go day-to-day here.”
— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) October 26, 2026
“Yeah, we’ll see how he does, like you said, Kev, but DeeJay Dallas is doing some really good things from a protection standpoint, kicking game standpoint. We still have Demond [Claiborne] growing every single day. He’s getting better and better every single day, every week, as part of his development plan. So I feel good about the room, and we’ll meet kind of as a staff and get together with Nolan here, and talk through that, what it looks like. But with where Aaron’s at and where we feel coming out of the game, don’t necessarily see it as a depth issue at all. But obviously, things could change as we go day-to-day here.”
Kevin O’Connell – Monday Press Conference (video above)
If Jones is limited this week, the Vikings now have Jordan Mason back. Mason returned Sunday after missing four games with a thumb injury from Week 1 and led the team with 68 yards on 15 carries. He has 127 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries in his two games this season.
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A day-to-day tag also takes some pressure off the Vikings ahead of the trade deadline. After Sunday’s game, Mike Florio (PFT) reported the Vikings were believed to be interested in adding a running back, and Bill Barnwell (ESPN) had proposed a Saquon Barkley trade to Minnesota.
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