2 Ex-Vikings Could Fill an Opening on Current Vikings (2024)

The Minnesota Vikings acquired a longtime player just last year after spending a couple of years without him. Anthony Barr joined the team late in the season when Jordan Hicks was forced to miss time with an injury. He played four games, made one tackle, and saw the field on 49 defensive snaps and 11 on special teams.

2 Ex-Vikings Could Fill an Opening on Current Vikings

Barr was a feel-good story for a few days, especially picking number 54, the jersey number of his teammate at UCLA and in Minnesota, Eric Kendricks, was a sweet move. Still, Barr barely had an impact on the team. A comparable addition could make sense for the 2024 Vikings to fill a role on offense.

The two running backs, Jerick McKinnon and Latavius Murray, remain unemployed. They are in the free agency pool and obviously are no longer as explosive as they once were when they were part of Skol Nation. However, they could still be of use for Kevin O’Connell’s offense.

Murray is 34, McKinnon 32, so why should the Vikings add an aging running back? The reason for that can be found in the current running back room.

General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah parted ways with Alexander Mattison following his disastrous season as the team’s starter and added ex-Packers runner Aaron Jones to be the new RB1. Jones is aging, too, but he was explosive when he last suited up in the playoffs.

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Behind Jones, the Vikes employ Ty Chandler, the 2022 draft choice who stole Mattison’s starting gig in the final four games of the season. Both of them are undoubtedly superior players compared to Murray and McKinnon. Still, the duo could fill the role of the new RB3.

The Vikings lack another option in the running back room that can reliably carry the ball. Myles Gaskin and DeWayne McBride failed to earn carries last season despite Mattison’s struggles and Cam Akers’ season-ending injury. That is quite telling about their potential. Kene Nwangwu is an outstanding kick returner but lacks the skill set of a running back. He appears to be a long shot to become more than a special teams player.

Long story short, the Vikings have only two NFL-caliber running backs, and either Murray or McKinnon could be the third player in the rotation.

Murray was drafted in the sixth round of the 2013 draft by the (then) Oakland Raiders, where he spent the four years of his rookie contract. He eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards in 2015 and logged 12 rushing scores in 2016. After Adrian Peterson exited Minnesota in 2017, the Vikings signed the free agent to form a duo with McKinnon. Dalvin Cook was drafted six weeks later, but his ACL tear in the fourth game of the season opened the door for the duo to carry the load all the way to the NFC Championship game.

The veteran left the Vikings after two seasons and became a journeyman in the league, rushing for the Saints, Ravens, Broncos, and Bills. Surprisingly, despite his age, he has remained an effective ball carrier. He had rushed for at least 500 yards in eight consecutive seasons until his streak broke last year. Murray collected 300 yards on 79 carries with the Bills. He found the endzone four times.

McKinnon, meanwhile, left the Vikings after the 2017 season, joining the 49ers and head coach Kyle Shanahan, who is known to have an elite rushing scheme. McKinnon tore his ACL, forcing him to miss the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

After the 2020 season, in which he was a rotational player in San Francisco, McKinnon joined Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City. He is just coming off back-to-back Super Bowl wins, although an injury in 2023 forced him to miss most of the playoffs. He has transitioned into a receiving threat out of the backfield but barely has made an impact as a rusher in recent years. His best campaign came in 2022 when he recorded 512 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns.

The smaller receiver McKinnon and the power runner Murray are two entirely different types of running backs, but either could be a solid RB3 for the Vikings. It might not be at the top of the wishlist, but having depth at the position is crucial to avoid another catastrophic season in the running game, especially now with quarterbacks who must be supported. Avoiding a one-dimensional offense is essential in 2024.

Adofo-Mensah should call the free agents and sign one as a reliable depth option.

Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings:@JanikEckardt