The Minnesota Vikings have conducted two trades in the last week as free agency heated up.
2 Players Screwed by Recent Vikings Trades
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah offloaded guard Ed Ingram to the Houston Texans for a 2026 6th-Round pick — and turned around to ship that pick to the San Francisco 49ers for running back Jordan Mason and a 2025 pick swap.
Most fans applauded the trades because Ingram had been benched last season in favor of Dalton Risner, while Mason’s age-25 upside should bolster Kevin O’Connell’s ground game in 2025 and beyond.
Along the way, however, a couple of Vikings players got the short end of the stick due to the Mason trade.
Ty Chandler
Two weeks ago, the Vikings’ running back room looked like this:
- Ty Chandler
- Zavier Scott
Fast forward to the second week of free agency, and it’s a brave new world:
- Aaron Jones
- Jordan Mason
- Ty Chandler
- Zavier Scott
Chandler is fast as hell — he ran a 4.38 forty-yard dash leading up to the 2022 NFL Draft — but struggles with pass blocking. Accordingly, Chandler has never caught on as Minnesota’s RB1 or RB2 and hence received the RB3 demotion last season when Minnesota traded for Cam Akers.
Down the stretch of the 2023 season, however, Chandler showed intense flashes of promise, stimulating Minnesota’s stale ground game in a couple of contests against the Cincinnati Bengals and Detroit Lions that year. The Vikings showcased Alexander Mattison as RB1 in 2023, an experiment that totally flopped, and by December 2023, Chandler had taken the big job.
Now, Mason is in town, presumably on deck for Chandler’s job.
In fact, Chandler could be cut or traded before Week 1.
Cam Akers
Akers remains a free agent, and Mason’s entry onto the depth chart almost certainly rules out a third act in Minnesota. Most believe the Vikings will also draft a rookie runner, as this year’s class is unbelievably deep.
The Vikings’ coaching staff loves Akers and, in fact, many thought he’d re-sign with the purple team last summer. ESPN even reported on its Transactions Page that Akers had re-signed, pending a physical. Ultimately, Minnesota had to re-trade for Akers last October.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweeted last October: “Trade! The Texans are sending RB Cam Akers to the Vikings, sources say. Houston gets a 2026 conditional sixth-round pick in exchange for Akers and a 2026 conditional seventh-round pick. It’s a reunion for Akers and Minnesota, which also traded for him last season.”
The Vikings, indeed, traded for Akers in back-to-back seasons. Some have even joked they’ll do it again in 2025 if injuries sideline Jones or Mason.
On the whole, fans surmised Akers would probably be back via free agency in 2025, but that move has not occurred, and with Mason in the house, re-upping with Akers in on life support.
What’s Next at RB?
The Vikings’ running back room is pretty well set, all things considered. However, if Adofo-Mensah wants to get ultra-rich at running back, these are the high-profile rookie tailbacks after Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, who almost all but certainly won’t be available to Minnesota at pick No. 24:
- Omarion Hampton (North Carolina)
- TreVeyon Henderson (Ohio State)
- Kaleb Johnson (Iowa)
- Quinshon Judkins (Ohio State)
- Cam Skattebo (Arizona State)
- Devin Neal (Kansas)
- Ollie Gordon II (Oklahoma State)
- Dylan Sampson (Tennessee)
The club ranked 27th per rushing DVOA in 2022, 27th in 2023, and 20th in 2024. The trend is encouraging, but between Jones, Mason, and possibly a rookie halfback, edging closer to the Top 10 is preferred.
And Chandler + Akers probably won’t be a part of the plan.
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 MIN 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.