San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey played just four games last season as he battled multiple injuries, and he's missed 10 or more games in three of the last five seasons.
So their fans were likely caught off guard when they found out the team traded McCaffrey's primary backup, Jordan Mason, on Saturday in a surprising move with the Minnesota Vikings.
Mason rushed for a career-high 789 yards and three touchdowns, including three 100-yard games in his first four starts, and he added 11 catches for 91 yards while filling in for McCaffrey, who missed the first eight games with Achilles tendonitis, returned to play four games from Nov. 10 through Dec. 1, and missed the rest of the season with a PCL injury.
Per ESPN, the 49ers sent Mason and the No. 187 pick in the 2025 NFL draft to the Vikings in exchange for the No. 160 pick this year and a 2026 sixth-round pick.
The 49ers placed a second-round tender on Mason last week, which locked him in for a $5.3 million salary next season before jettisoning him. He'll make $12 million with $7 million guaranteed on his new two-year contract with Minnesota.
The 25-year-old Mason will likely backup Aaron Jones, who recently re-signed for two years and $20 million earlier in the offseason and rushed for a career-high 1,138 yards in 2024.
Mason presumably will slot in on the depth chart above Ty Chandler and replace Minnesota's No. 2 RB Cam Akers, who rushed for 297 yards and a touchdown last season.
Mason is the latest addition to the Vikings offense after the team bulked up its offensive line in signing center Ryan Kelly and guard Will Fries to multiyear deals at the start of free agency.
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This story was originally published March 15, 2025 at 10:32 PM.