Vikings Work Out Another Veteran RB
In the last few weeks, the Minnesota Vikings have auditioned veterans Dalton Risner (OG), Ronald Darby (CB), and Kareem Hunt (RB).
The team’s next preseason game is Saturday night, and final roster cutdowns are due on August 29th — or exactly two weeks.
Vikings Work Out Another Veteran RB
Minnesota added to the try-outs list Tuesday, hosting veteran halfback Mike Davis for a visit.
NFL Network‘s Tom Pelissero tweeted on the X app, “Meanwhile, the Vikings continued to look at veteran running backs, working out Mike Davis.”
The Vikings evidently maintain interest in adding some RB experience after Dalvin Cook was released in June. That same Cook joined the New York Jets on Monday after nearly 10 weeks of free-agent mystery.
Davis, 30, last played for the Baltimore Ravens in 2022. albeit in only 8 games, and tallied 8 rushing attempts for 18 yards. The veteran defender was buried on a Ravens depth chart stuffed to the gills with RB talent. On the whole, here’s Davis’ NFL resume to date:
- San Francisco 49ers (2015–2016)
- Seattle Seahawks (2017–2018)
- Chicago Bears (2019)
- Carolina Panthers (2019–2020)
- Atlanta Falcons (2021)
- Baltimore Ravens (2022)
Davis was in peak form during the 2020 season with the Seahawks, tallying 642 rushing yards on 165 carries with 6 touchdowns. He also added 59 receptions for 373 receiving yards and 2 scores through the air.
Overall, he’s registered 2,052 rushing yards on 558 career attempts (3.7 YPA) in 87 games (30 starts). Davis has banked an additional 171 receptions and 1,066 receiving yards. Quite frankly, he’s the definition of a journeyman running back, best fitted for an RB3 assignment in 2023.
Adding Davis boils down to a simple question for the Vikings, the same one in play when Hunt visited a few days ago. Does the coaching staff trust Alexander Mattison, Ty Chandler, DeWayne McBride, and Kene Nwangwu at RB in 2023? Or does it plan to cut one of those men and add a Hunt or Davis type?
Nwangwu was listed as the RB2 on the first unofficial depth chart last week, with Mattison assuming RB1 duties and Chandler + McBride vying for RB3 and RB4. Chandler headlined offensive festivities in the Vikings first preseason game last Thursday, so he may be on deck for RB2 by the time the regular season rolls around.
If Davis does sign in Minnesota, it’s virtually guaranteed to be a small, one-year contract.
Davis was teammates with defensive end Jadeveon Clowney in college and was a 4th-Round draft pick by the San Francisco 49ers in 2015.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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