This season, Aaron Jones became the first Minnesota Vikings running back to gain over 1,500 total yards from scrimmage since Dalvin Cook in 2020.
Jones is easily the most talented running back the Vikings have had in their backfield since hiring Kevin O'Connell to be the team's head coach in 2022 (including Cook). During the 2024 campaign, he added a new dimension to O'Connell's offense that made it even more difficult for opposing defenses to stop.
In a few weeks, Jones will become a free agent for the second offseason in a row, and after the performance he just had in his first year with Minnesota, one should expect the team to at least consider bringing him back for another season, especially if he costs anywhere near what his 2025 price tag was recently projected to be.
Aaron Jones projected to cost less to re-sign than what the Minnesota Vikings paid him in 2024
With how well Jones fit in O'Connell's offense during the 2024 campaign, re-signing the veteran running back is certainly going to be an option the team will likely explore this offseason.
Currently, Spotrac has Jones's market value projected to land him a contract that pays him around $5.6 million per year. That's less than the $7 million the Vikings paid to sign him in free agency last offseason.
If that's the price that it would take for Minnesota to re-sign him, the chances of him remaining in purple and gold for at least one more season seem like they would be pretty high.
In addition to compensation, Jones would probably have to open to a slightly different role with the Vikings in 2025 if he were to return.
Minnesota struggled to run the ball around the goal line this season and adding another running back in free agency or the NFL Draft who is better in short-yardage situations is something the team will probably make a priority this year.
However, losing a few snaps per game to another running back next season is something that would likely help Jones not take such a beating on the field, as he did in 2024.
At 30 years old, he's right at the age where durability starts to become more of an issue for running backs, and even though he appeared in all 18 of Minnesota's games this season, he certainly wasn't 100 percent healthy in all of them.
Jones seemed to really enjoy his time with the Vikings in 2024, so if the team is willing to pay him near his projected market value and continue to utilize him in the offense at an above-average rate, then it probably won't be too hard to convince him to re-sign this offseason.
