The exodus out of San Francisco continues. The 49ers have agreed to trade running back Jordan Mason to the Minnesota Vikings, his agency told ESPN. In exchange, the Niners receive a 2026 sixth-round pick. On top of that, the two clubs are also swapping Day 3 selections in the 2025 NFL Draft. The 49ers now own No. 160 overall, while the Vikings receive No. 187.
Along with the trade, the Vikings have agreed to a two-year deal with Mason that includes over $7 million fully guaranteed and has a maximum value of $12 million. Earlier this offseason, the 49ers placed a second-round tender on Mason, who was a restricted free agent. That had him slated to earn $5.3 million next season, but that has since been cast aside with him dealt to Minnesota.
The 25-year-old entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech in 2022. Up until this trade, he’d spent his entire career with the 49ers and had piled up 1,375 yards from scrimmage and seven total touchdowns over his tenure. The 2024 campaign proved to be the most productive of his career.
With fellow running back Christian McCaffrey (Achilles tendonitis) sidelined due to injury, Mason carried a larger load in the San Francisco backfield. While Mason — who had three 100-plus yard rushing games within the first month of the season — started strong, his production did tail off in conjunction with McCaffrey’s return. Then, in Week 13, Mason suffered a high-ankle sprain that would lead to him landing on season-ending injured reserve. In 12 games (six starts), he totaled 789 yards rushing and three touchdowns. He also added 11 receptions for 91 yards receiving.
As Mason now turns the page to the next chapter of his NFL career with the Vikings, he joins a backfield that is headlined by Aaron Jones, who re-signed with Minnesota this offseason on a two-year, $20 million extension. With Jones’ presence, Mason should be looked at as a high-end depth piece.
With the particulars laid out, let’s now grade the trade.
Vikings: B-
Minnesota gets a quality backup to Jones, who is entering his age-30 season. As the Vikings saw last season, Mason is capable of taking on the bulk of the carries in a pinch, and doing so at a high level, notching three games with over 100 yards rushing. That includes when he rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown against them in Week 2 last season. As the roster is currently constituted, Mason should slot in as the No. 2 option in the backfield behind Jones and ahead of Ty Chandler. Meanwhile, Minnesota secures this depth piece with a relatively low cost over his two-year extension. Shipping out a Day 3 pick and moving down the board some also shouldn’t have Kwesi Adofo-Mensah staying awake a night.
49ers: C+
The 49ers do have a pretty deep stable of backs headlined by McCaffrey. They also have Isaac Guerendo, who flashed as a rookie, so that made Mason expendable. What they lose in depth, they gain in added draft capital during a year where it is said to be flush with running back talent. Along with the sixth-rounder next year, they move into the middle of the fifth round this year from the top of the sixth, which isn’t too shabby. Of course, they need to hit on the picks to make it worthwhile, making it a touch riskier on their end.
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