Getty Ex-Giants running back Wayne Gallman.
On Monday, December 14, the Minnesota Vikings backfield took a major hit — one that will carry over into a must-win divisional bout with the Chicago Bears in Week 15. Alexander Mattison, the team’s primary backup to star Dalvin Cook, has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 protocol list.
To help counteract the loss of their second-leading rusher, Minnesota went out and claimed veteran running back Wayne Gallman off waivers. Per the team’s official website, Gallman’s addition to the roster is pending a physical. The Clemson product appeared in six games with the Atlanta Falcons this season but was released on December 11.
According to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press, Mattison will miss Monday’s tilt with Chicago and be out of action for a minimum of 10 days due to being unvaccinated. This, despite the fact that the 23-year-old running back took part in a commercial back in April for San Bernardino County in which he promoted the COVID-19 vaccine.
Gallman Turned Heads in New York Last Season
A fourth-round selection of the New York Giants in 2017, Gallman spent four seasons in East Rutherford where he amassed 1,942 yards from scrimmage and 11 total touchdowns.
Last season, with Saquon Barkley on the mend due to a torn ACL, Gallman — for the first time in his career — took the helm atop an NFL depth chart for a prolonged period. The results were impressive to say the least, as he paced the team’s backfield in every major statistical category, posting career highs in attempts (147), rushing yards (682) and rushing touchdowns (six). His 4.6 yards per carry also ranked 16th-best league-wide among running backs with at least 105 carries.
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Gallman Flopped in Free Agency
In many ways, Gallman appeared to play himself out of the Giants’ future. Coming off a career season and eyeing a major role moving forward, playing second-fiddle to Barkley never appeared to be in the cards for the Georgia native. Yet, while the Giants quickly moved on to Devontae Booker as their answer behind Barkley, Gallman never quite cashed in on the lucrative payday so many had projected for him.
Instead, the 27-year-old sat around on the open market for north of a month with very little public interest. Ultimately, he latched on with the San Francisco 49ers on a one-year, sub-$1 million contract in late April. However, he spent the majority of the preseason buried on the team’s depth chart, leading to his release on August 31 during final roster cuts. He quickly resurfaced in the NFC, signing with the Falcons just two days later.
With a solid, yet unremarkable Mike Davis as the lone proven commodity ahead of him in Atlanta, Gallman looked destined to carve out a role swiftly with the Falcons. Instead, all-purpose phenom Cordarrelle Patterson decided that 30 years old was the perfect age to finally start living up to his first-round billing, taking the league by storm and looking the part of an elite hybrid running back. In 12 games this season, Patterson has accounted for 1,389 yards from scrimmage — the third-most in the NFL.
With Patterson excelling and Davis making $2.75 million annually, Gallman was once again kicked to the curb after just 28 carries. Now on his fourth team in less than a month, Gallman will look to recapture his magic from just one season ago as he and the Vikings sit a half-game out of the final wild-card spot in the NFC.