Minnesota Vikings running back, Ty Chandler, running the ball against the San Francisco 49ers on September 15, 2024.
One of the Minnesota Vikings biggest weak spots on the roster, coming into 2025 – particularly on offense – could well be at running back.
Both starter, Aaron Jones, and backup, Jordan Mason, have a good amount of experience spearheading a rushing offense, given Mason spent the majority of 2024 as the RB1 in San Francisco in lieu of the injured Christian McCaffrey.
Yet, there are still questions concerning both the depth of the unit beyond the starting two, and the potential future decline of the Jones, who will be 31 years old by the end of the season.
However, according to Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox, the next move the team makes at the position could be a sell, rather than a buy, as he believes that third string back, Ty Chandler, should be added to the trade block.
“After struggling to field a consistent running game in 2023,” Knox wrote on Thursday, “the Minnesota Vikings have added a noteworthy running back in each of the past two offseasons. They signed Aaron Jones Sr. a year ago and traded for Jordan Mason earlier this year.
This likely leaves Ty Chandler as the No. 3 running back once again, and his role as a kick returner could also be in jeopardy.”
Ty Chandler’s Return Ability A Key Reason To Trade
Although he will likely not feature a vast amount on offense, the biggest reason for his potential departure – per Knox – would be due to the Vikings being able to get (comparatively) reasonable compensation on him as a returner – even though his 25 yards/return over the course of his career is far from top of the range at the position.
“If Minnesota can upgrade its return game, it should look to move Chandler ahead of his contract season. His special teams experience and solid play in 2023—he averaged 4.5 yards per carry that season while averaging just 3.3 yards per carry in 2022 and 2024—should generate some interest.
The Vikings couldn’t expect a sizeable trade package, but they could save $1.1 million in cap space by dealing the 27-year-old.”
Do The Vikings Have Enough Depth To Support A Chandler Trade?
Minnesota have surprisingly few running backs on the 90 man training camp roster – just five. And considering that teams often carry as many as four tailbacks on the final 53-man regular season roster, even the bottom end of the room has a pretty decent chance – relative to other teams in the league – of making the final team.
It is worth pointing out, however, that the presence of fullback, CJ Ham, could subsequently lead to the Vikings deciding to bring only three official run-the-ball RBs onto the roster come final cuts at the end of August.
If that were the case, then the decision would come to a single spot, chosen between Chandler, Zavier Scott and free agent rookie, Tre Stewart. And after reports have started to come out talking about the impressive work Scott has been doing at training camp – it could be that the North Carolina grad could be expendable anyway – making trading him a no-brainer.
Certainly one to keep an eye on throughout training camp…
