EAGAN, Minn. — It seems safe to rule out at least one possibility as the Minnesota Vikings sort through their backfield options this spring. They do not want to repeat their heavy use of veteran Aaron Jones, who set career highs in touches (306), carries (255) and offensive snaps (700) in his first season with the team.

Jones made it through all 18 games, even while nursing hip, rib and quadriceps injuries. He had the most rushing yards (1,138) and second-most yards from scrimmage (1,546) in his career. But as he approaches free agency at age 30, the Vikings have signaled that they will dial back his playing time if he returns.

“The big thing for me is we loved having Aaron Jones, the impact he had,” coach Kevin O’Connell told SiriusXM earlier this month. “For the better part of his career, he had kind of been a part of backfield committees, but for the most part, Aaron Jones was the feature back [in 2024]. … So I would love to have Aaron back. And then we just continue to grow in that room, whether it’s infusing a young player in the draft or maybe another player in free agency alongside Aaron Jones, hopefully.”

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Many teams, however, will be sorting through what is projected to be a deep class of running backs in the draft. ESPN’s Field Yates ranks Boise State’s