Apparently, The Vikings’ Newest Playmaker Was Coveted by Multiple Teams
Tossing Jordan Mason into the running back rotation seemingly came out of nowhere. The widespread assumption was that re-adding Aaron Jones would lead to some Minnesota patience, waiting until the 2025 NFL Draft to pickup an extra runner.
Clearly, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah had different plans.
Even more fascinating is that the Vikings’ newest playmaker was someone who was attracting attention from other teams. Consider a pair of updates to establish the point. First, there’s the word from Albert Breer: “Mason was a known trade target for a few teams. This is a good get for the Vikings.” And then there’s the word from Jeremy Fowler: “Many teams considered Mason among the top free agent RBs available despite his status as an RFA.”
The NFL Interest in The Vikings’ Newest Playmaker
Last week, Janik Eckardt wrote about how Minnesota was able to outbid multiple teams to secure the services for right guard Will Fries.
Breer offered that update, as well: “There was a lot of action on Fries—the Colts were trying to bring him back, and the Patriots, Giants, Seahawks and Cardinals were also involved.”
Eckardt offers his thoughts on the matter: “In the NFL, practically all 32 teams constantly look for offensive line help, so it’s not too surprising to see other teams trying to sign the man. What might be more surprising is that the Vikings entered the sweepstakes and won.”
With Jordan Mason, one wonders if the dollars and cents were a critical factor in the trade negotiations. After all, the salary update arrived simultaneously with the news of a swap between Minnesota and San Francisco.
Consider what Adam Schefter had to say: “Trade: 49ers are trading Jordan Mason to the Minnesota Vikings. Viking 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.”
So, a recap of what we know.
Mr. Mason was generating interest from teams beyond just the one that calls Minnesota home. The Vikings still were able to pull off the swap. The trade news arrived alongside the news of what Jordan Mason would be paid, hinting that the new contract may have been central to the negotiations (in the NHL, this sort of thing is very common, such as with the recent trade for Mikko Rantanen). After all, a team that is acquiring an unsigned RFA would surely be interested in knowing what the unsigned RFA is demanding on his next deal before shipping out precious draft capital.
Jordan Mason, who will turn 26 in May, stands at a sturdy 5’11” and weighs 223 pounds. He’s very likely to begin the season as the RB2 but it won’t be surprising if he snags a near even amount of touches as Aaron Jones in the Kevin O’Connell offense.
Something to note is that Mason doesn’t appear to be the world’s best receiver coming out of the backfield. In his three-year career, Mason has snagged 18 targets for 14 catches, 122 yards, and 0 touchdowns. Last year alone, Aaron Jones had 62 targets for 51 catches, 408 yards, and 2 touchdowns (and that’s within an offense where Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson demand a ton of attention).
Regardless, the Jordan Mason deal looks good. He has a career yards-per-carry average of 5.3. Continuing that level of efficiency and explosiveness would go a long way in pushing O’Connell’s offense to the next level.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on social media (Bluesky & Twitter). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.
