As on-field work at OTAs takes place around the NFL, teams will start to figure some things out regarding depth charts and roster construction. Of course, that won't come into full bloom until training camp and players are in pads, but early ideas and speculation on that front are natural.
In a recent episode of SKOR North's "Purple Daily", co-host Judd Zulgad offered some surprise potential trade or cut candidates for the Minnesota Vikings. All the players mentioned were aligned with the premise, as he warned about triggering people.
Zulgad noted how the second player on his list is unlikely to be cut, based on a number of notable factors. A move to cut that player would also be a big twist on top of an unexpected twist from early in the offseason.
A Minnesota Vikings analyst offers a remote (but also possible) surprise cut candidate
"No. 2 is Aaron Jones", Zulgad said. "I will fully acknowledge this is unlikely. The running back depth chart is not long, Jones is an O'Connell favorite, for sure."
"But he's gonna be 32 on December the 2nd. He is entering his 10th season in the National Football League. He has one year left on a contract that will pay him $5 million base (salary) in 2026. But it carries a $10.2 milion cap hit."
"The reason why it can't be completely dismissed is, this man, I feel like for the last couple years at least, has been flirting with the cliff. It's one of the reasons why the Packers didn't bring him back...he's been flirting with the age/playing cliff. He plays a position at which, when you hit that (cliff), you hit it hard, you go off that cliff."
Zulgad noted how Jones played all 17 games in 2024, his first year as a Viking, despite being banged up quite a bit. Then he missed five games last season. After appearing to be an inevitable cap casualty this offseason, he agreed to a revised deal and stayed with the Vikings.
Zulgad did caveat the idea of cutting or trading Jones with the simple unknown (however intriguing he is) of rookie Demond Claiborne.
The Vikings would be likely to add another veteran running back if they parted with Jones. But as Zulgad also said, coaches should be able to see quickly during training camp if Jones' skills are diminished to the point where thoughts of "what's the point?" enter the equation.
As co-host Phil Mackey noted, the Vikings aren't cutting Jones due to $9.8 million of that aforementioned cap hit sticking as dead money with that move (according to Over The Cap). A trade would make it $4.8 million in dead money, with $5.4 million in cap savings.
So, as Mackey said, parting with Jones would be solely to clear a bigger role for Claiborne, and it'd be a signal they believe the rookie is ready to be Jordan Mason's running mate.
There's about a 0.2 percent chance the Vikings will part with Jones before Week 1. But it's in the category of "never say never", and if the youth movement for his spot on the running back depth chart ends up being accelerated, it's not out of the question.
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