It’s hard to believe the NFL season is already in Week 8. For fantasy football players, things are either going great, falling apart, or hanging somewhere in between. There’s still time to turn things around before the playoffs, and it all starts with Thursday Night Football.
This week’s matchup is between the Minnesota Vikings and the Los Angeles Chargers. Most fantasy managers have their eyes on just one major piece of news, the status of Vikings running back Aaron Jones.
Jones has been out for the last four games with a hamstring injury. He’s finally eligible to return from injured reserve and was spotted back at practice this week, which gives fans some hope. Whether he actually plays tonight is still uncertain, though.
Is Aaron Jones playing tonight?
He’s officially listed as questionable, meaning there’s about a fifty-fifty chance he suits up. The fact that he practiced on both Tuesday and Wednesday is a good sign, but the team might still want to play it safe and give him one more week to recover fully. If he sits out again, he’s almost guaranteed to be ready for Week 9.
For fantasy football, this situation is tricky. Starting Aaron Jones tonight would be a big gamble. Even if he plays, there’s no telling how many touches he’ll get or whether the team will limit his workload.
That also makes things complicated for Jordan Mason, who’s been filling in while Jones was out. If Jones doesn’t play, Mason is the safe option. He should get plenty of carries and has a solid chance of finding the end zone. But if Jones does play, both players might end up splitting opportunities, making it hard to rely on either one fully.
In short, fantasy managers should probably keep Jones on the bench this week and roll with Mason instead. There’s no need to risk it all on an uncertain return when safer options are still available.
