Aaron Jones quickly makes Packers jealous in Vikings debut
By Adam Patrick
After the Green Bay Packers made the decision to move on from him earlier this year, it didn't take long for Pro Bowl running back Aaron Jones to find a new home with the rival Minnesota Vikings.
It also didn't take long for Jones to make the Packers regret his departure, as the veteran playmaker scored the Vikings' first touchdown of the 2024 season in his new team's Week 1 matchup against the New York Giants on Sunday.
Minnesota Vikings RB Aaron Jones gets off to quick start in first game since Green Bay Packers release
This offseason, Minnesota wanted to improve a rushing attack that ranked near the bottom of the NFL during the team's first two seasons under head coach Kevin O'Connell.
So, after the 2023 season, the Vikings released veteran running back Alexander Mattison, and landed Jones in free agency. Minnesota believed the former Green Bay rusher still had plenty left in the tank and signed him to a one-year contract worth $7 million.
Jones didn't appear in any of the Vikings' preseason games this summer, so Sunday in New York was his official debut in a Minnesota uniform.
After the Vikings made it all the way down to the Giants' five-yard line on their second offensive drive of the day, Jones got two chances to get it in the end zone, and after only gaining two yards on his first attempt, the former Packers running back put six points on the board for Minnesota with a three-yard sprint past the goal line.
Meanwhile, Green Bay's replacement for Jones, Josh Jacobs, was unable to find the end zone in his debut for the Packers this past Friday in their Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
So far so good, for Jones in a Vikings uniform, and in a few weeks, he'll get his first chance for revenge against his old team when Minnesota heads out on the road in Week 4 to take on Green Bay.