Vikings designate Brett Jones to return from injured reserve

Should the Minnesota Vikings defeat the New Orleans Saints on Sunday in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs, they will be getting some reinforcements on the offensive line prior to their trip to San Francisco.

On Wednesday, the Vikings designated guard Brett Jones to return from the injured reserve list. Per NFL rules, he can’t return to active play for seven days, so he won’t be available against the Saints on Sunday, but he can return to practice with the team.

The Vikings replaced Jones on injured reserve back in November with a knee injury. Prior to that, Jones had been active for just two games this season.

Minnesota traded for Jones before the start of the 2018 season, sending a seventh-round pick to the New York Giants in order to acquire his services. He started the first three games of that season while Pat Elflein was recovering from injury, and for reasons that most people aren’t exactly sure of, he has had difficulty getting onto the field ever since.

With Jones’ return, the Vikings can no longer bring players back from injured reserve, as Jones was the second player the team had designated for return this season. The team brought wide receiver Josh Doctson back from injured reserve earlier this year, and NFL rules mandate that only two players can be brought back from IR during the course of a season.