Aug 17, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Myles Gaskin (37) runs the ball against the Cleveland Browns during the second quarter at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports.
It’s tight end Nick Muse out — and running back Myles Gaskin in.
Muse injured his hand in Sunday’s win over the San Francisco 49ers, and although the ailment isn’t totally severe, according to head coach Kevin O’Connell, the young tight end will hit injured reserve and miss at least four games.
Muse’s roster spot will be filled by veteran running back Myles Gaskin, who played quite well in the preseason last month.
The Vikings’ main social media team tweeted Wednesday, “The Vikings have signed RB Myles Gaskin to the 53-man roster and placed TE Nick Muse on IR.”
Minnesota’s RB room now looks like this, with a Week 3 date against the Houston Texans four days away:
Gaskin has experienced action on 11 snaps so far in 2024, two on offense and nine on special times. Like Weeks 1 and 2, Gaskin will be the next man up at RB2 if something happens to Jones or Chandler injury-wise. It’s just that the Vikings won’t have to call him up from the practice squad each week. He’s here to stay, at least for a while.
Gaskin initially joined the Vikings roster late in the summer of 2023 after the club auditioned men like Kareem Hunt and Mike Davis for the gig. The Dolphins cut Gaskin loose during roster trimdowns, and Minnesota pounced. Thereafter, he was the odd man out (for a while) when Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah swung a low-risk trade for Cam Akers last September. Gaskin then returned to the Vikings practice squad.
Soon after, the Rams stole Gaskin from the Vikings practice squad in October, a contingency plan when Kyren Williams hit injured reserve. But when Williams returned to the field thereafter, plus contributions from Darrell Henderson and Royce Freeman, Gaskin became expendable.
Then, on November 7th, the Rams dropped him from the depth chart, and the Vikings re-signed Gaskin a week later. An adventure, indeed. Minnesota kept him around this offseason.
The former 7th-Round draft pick is a dual-threat RB, tabulating 101 receptions since 2019 for 701 yards and 6 touchdowns, with 362 rushing attempts for 1,352 yards and 7 scores. He was at the peak of his powers in 2020, tallying 972 yards from scrimmage.
The Texans, Minnesota’s Week 3 opponent, rank fifth leaguewide per rush defense DVOA through two games. Houston has never beaten Minnesota, unsuccessful in five attempts since 2004.
Gaskin will turn 28 in February and could also be featured as a special teams returner on Sundays.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.