MRI revealed that Packers’ RB Aaron Jones has “a mild” MCL sprain and he is expected to be out 1-2 weeks, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 15, 2021
Testing on Aaron Jones’ injured right knee revealed good news for the Green Bay Packers.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, an MRI on Monday showed that Jones is dealing with a “mild” sprain to the MCL in his knee, meaning he’ll only miss 1-2 games.
Jones suffered the injury during the second half of Sunday’s win over the Seattle Seahawks. Initially, there was concern Jones might have suffered a season-ending injury.
Missing only one or two games has to be considered a best-case scenario given the circumstances.
The Packers play the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams over the next two weeks. Given his recovery timeline, it’s possible Jones could return next week to play the Rams, or the Packers could wait until after the Week 13 for Jones to play again.
Giving the knee three full weeks of rest and recovery might be the best route for the Packers, a Super Bowl contender that needs Jones and his dynamic playmaking ability for the stretch run. If this is the preferred path forward, Jones would return in Week 14 against the Chicago Bears.
Through 10 games, Jones has 541 rushing yards, 298 receiving yards and seven total touchdowns.
This is the third time Jones has sprained the MCL in his right knee since entering the NFL. The Packers could place him on injured reserve, but doing so would require Jones to miss three games (not just weeks). It might make more sense, given his recovery timeline, to keep him on the active roster.
Without Jones, the Packers will lean on backup A.J. Dillon, who created 128 total yards and scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns against the Seahawks. Among players taken in the 2020 NFL draft, Dillon ranks seventh in yards from scrimmage (617) this season.
Patrick Taylor, who was signed from the practice squad earlier this month, would be the new backup running back behind Dillon.
