After three years with the San Francisco 49ers, running back Jordan Mason was traded to the Minnesota Vikings in March 2025 in exchange for a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick. Meant to serve as a backup to Vikings veteran running back Aaron Jones, Mason has played in all 14 games for Minnesota this season as Jones has struggled with injuries.
After watching Jones go down early on against the New York Giants in Week 16, Minnesota’s worst fears came true as Mason was carted to the locker room shortly after.
What Happened to Minnesota Vikings RB Jordan Mason?
The Vikings have endured an up-and-down season with quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s first full season. While injuries have slowed him down, the offense has not looked the greatest, even when McCarthy has been under center this season. Combine being without Jones for most of the season, and it’s easy to see why the offense has had its share of struggles in 2025.
However, despite the issues, offseason trade acquisition Mason filled in valiantly for Jones this season. In 14 games, he’s turned 143 carries into 659 yards and six touchdowns. He’s also caught 13 of 15 targets for 45 yards. Unfortunately for the Vikings, Mason went down early in the first quarter and was eventually carted to the locker room.
Status alert: Jordan Mason (leg) carted to locker room Sunday.
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) December 21, 2025
While Jones was able to return to the game, Mason was officially ruled out with an ankle injury by the Vikings.
Unfortunately for the Vikings, the offense has struggled for most of the season. According to PFSN’s Offense Impact metric, Minnesota ranks 28th in the NFL with an impact score of 66.5. Despite having a wide receiver as good as Justin Jefferson, the team has not been able to mesh as well as many thought it would coming into the season.
With the postseason out of the question, the Vikings will turn to the offseason to make some significant changes. While expectations were high for McCarthy and Minnesota’s offense, the unit fell flat on its face for much of the season as the second-year signal-caller struggled to get much of anything going outside of the fourth quarter.
Mason filled those gaps in admirably, but it just wasn’t enough juice to overcome the overall struggles head coach Kevin O’Connell and Minnesota were facing each week. It’s clear that McCarthy still has some growing to do to lead this offense more effectively, and it will be interesting to see how this unit evolves over the course of the 2026 offseason.
Editor’s Note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated throughout the day as more information becomes available.
