TRADE! The Vikings Have Done It Again.
The Minnesota Vikings haven’t been shy about roster movement in the last week.
TRADE! The Vikings Have Done It Again.
The team has onboarded a litany of prominent free agents, shipped guard Ed Ingram to the Houston Texans — and turned around to use the draft pick obtained from the Ingram trade to acquire running back Jordan Mason from the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday.
It’s a new RB2 in Minnesota behind incumbent RB1 Aaron Jones.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted, “Trade: 49ers are trading Jordan Mason to the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings are signing Mason to a 2-year deal with over $7 million fully guaranteed at signing with a maximum value of $12m. Negotiated by Jason & Michael Katz.”
“Full trade, per sources: Minnesota sends a 2026 6th-round pick and pick No. 160 this year to San Francisco. San Francisco sends RB Jordan Mason and pick No. 187 to Minnesota.”
The move adds intense, unforeseen running back depth to the purple roster after the club re-signed Jones to a two-year extension one week ago. As of March 15th, these halfbacks are under contract for 2025:
- Aaron Jones
- Jordan Mason
- Ty Chandler
- Zavier Scott
Fantasy football managers will know Mason quite well; he’s the man who kept their seasons afloat when Christian McCaffrey succumbed to injuries last year. Mason banked 789 rushing yards on 153 carries for an impressive 5.2 yards per carry average, along with 3 rushing touchdowns. He also hauled in 11 receptions for 91 yards on 14 targets.
On the surface, some fans initially believed the Mason trade would rule out Minnesota from drafting a running back this April. That isn’t necessarily true. Minnesota can do both — showcase bonafide running back depth while getting even richer in 5.5 weeks. This year’s tailback class is absolutely loaded, and nobody disputes it.
These rookie runners should be available to general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in the draft:
- 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)
Minnesota also immediately handed Mason a new contract. The Athletic‘s Alec Lewis tweeted, “New Vikings RB Jordan Mason is signing a 2-year, $7 million fully guaranteed deal at signing.”
Star Tribune‘s Ben Goessling noted, “In their trade with the 49ers for Jordan Mason, the Vikings will send a 2026 6th-round pick to the 49ers, and swap pick No. 160 this year for the 49ers’ pick No. 187.”
Minnesota’s ground game struggled in 2022 and 2023, the first two seasons under head coach Kevin O’Connell. It ranked 27th in back-to-back seasons per DVOA, preventing the offense from full efficiency. The unit improved, however, in 2024, climbing to the 20th ranking leaguewide. Most watched as the aforementioned Jones started the season quite hot while fizzling, to an extent, down the stretch.
Adding Mason at RB2 ensures that a Jones dip or injury keeps the enterprise afloat.
Meanwhile, Mason’s addition reduced the likelihood of Cam Akers returning in 2025. He played for the purple team in 2023 and 2024 — traded for twice, in fact. Minnesota doesn’t quite have enough roster spots to re-up with Akers, at least on paper.
RB3 Ty Chandler could be on the chopping block if Minnesota drafts a rookie running back in April as well.
Minnesota has four picks on deck for the draft: a 1st-Rounder, a 3rd-Rounder, and two 5th-Rounders. The team has the luxury of drafting the best player available after signing Ryan Kelly (center), Will Fries (guard), Jonathan Allen (defensive tackle), and Javon Hargrave (defensive tackle) this week.
Mason will turn 26 in May.
These Are the 9 New Vikings
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.
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