Aaron Jones wants to finish his career with Vikings

Jones his 88 yards short of setting a personal record for most yards from scrimmage in a season.

Dec 29, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones (33) runs with the ball against Green Bay Packers in the third quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images / Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Aaron Jones has shown why the Vikings were so quick to bring him in immediately after the Packers released him in March.

In the Vikings' Week 16 win over the Seahawks the 30-year-old running back surpassed the 1,000 yard mark for just the fourth time in his career. When he suits up in Sunday's regular season finale, it will be just the third time in his career Jones has been available for a full-slate of games.

"For me it wasn't necessarily about my former team giving up on me. It was proving that I can still play because the narrative wasn't 'Oh he can't play' it was the narrative 'He was getting older,'" Jones said of his motivations this season.

In talking to the media on Wednesday, Jones discussed getting banged up against the Packers - saying he'll be ready to play on Sunday - and what it meant to sweep the team that cut him last spring.

"Those games were circled on my calendar," Jones said. "Kind of prove it to the world, prove it to myself, prove it to everybody."

Jones has rushed for 1,093 yards this season, 28 yards short of his career high. With 88 more yards, he will eclipse his career high in yards from scrimmage in a single season. It's been a remarkable season for a back who hit that age 30 season, when most backs begin to fall off.

Among the 2017 draft class, when he was taken in the fifth round by Green Bay, Jones has played the third most games (56) of all the running backs taken, only behind San Francisco's Christian McCaffrey (72) and New Orleans' Alvin Kamara (70). Jones has carved out an excellent career for being the 19th running back selected in his draft class.

When Jones signed with the Vikings, one day after being released by the Packers, he inked a one-year $7 million deal. With a potential career year on the cards, Jones is facing another shot at free agency this coming spring. With that in mind though, Jones says he only want to be one place for the rest of his career.

"I hope to be here. I hope to be here till the end of my career," said Jones. "Honestly, this is an excellent place. Excellent upstairs, training room, all across the board this is an excellent place. So, this is where if I can finish my career here, this is where I'd like to finish my career at."

Already showing he still has it past the point that most in his position start to fall off, Jones said he still wants to play a while longer.

"Shoot, another 8-10 years, hopefully," Jones said when asked how much longer he wants to keep playing. "I'm feeling good. Feeling good. This is the best I've felt throughout 17 games... Continue to keep that going, rewind the clock back. ... After we win the Super Bowl, get into some recovery stuff."