Vikings' Aaron Jones Says His Mother Called for His Benching After Fumbles

The Minnesota RB has five fumbles this year, including two in the team's win over Arizona.

Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones (33) warms up before the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field / Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images

Fumbles are becoming an issue for Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones. Even his mother knows it.

Jones has five fumbles on the season, with four coming over the last three weeks. He coughed up the ball twice in the first quarter of the Vikings' 23–22 win over the Arizona Cardinals, losing one. Minnesota put him on the bench for much of the remainder of the half, a decision that his mother wholeheartedly agreed with.

“She said, ‘They needed to sit you down,’” Jones said, per The Minnesota Star Tribune. “She was like, ‘I don’t know what’s going on, but they need to take him out the game. They need to bench him right now.’ Anytime I hear from my mom, it’s going to be worse.”

Jones's mother Vurgess wasn't having his explanations either.

“I was like, ‘Ah, you know, I gotta learn from it,’” he added. “She’s like, ‘You didn’t learn last week?’”

Jones has been open about his recent fumbling struggles, and his mother isn't the only family member that has been involved in trying to snap him out of it. Jones said that he's been holding his children like footballs in an effort to break the habit.

He doesn't mind the tough love from his mother, stating that it is the role that his father, who passed away in 2021, used to play.

“It’s what I need, my mom being hard on me,” Jones said. “That was my dad for so many years. My dad’s not here, so my mom took the role over without me asking her.”

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