The Minnesota Vikings are riding high at 3-0. However, it hasn’t been a pretty 3-0. Their offense has struggled to gain much traction, and they currently rank dead last in the league in total yards (238.3 yards per game).
While their dormant passing attack (137 yards per game) is the biggest reason for that fact, they also rank 16th in rushing yards. They’re missing Jordan Mason, who led the team with 59 rushing yards in the season opener against Green Bay before fracturing his thumb late in the contest, dearly in that regard.
They’ve since elevated DeeJay Dallas from the practice squad and signed both Jonathan Ford and Audric Estime to take his spot. However, one man thinks they might not be done adding to their running back room. BleacherReport’s Kristopher Knox thinks they could swing a trade to Tampa Bay for running back Kenneth Gainwell.
He listed the Vikings as a potential suitor for the versatile back in BR’s Trade Block Big Board entering Week 4.
Kenneth Gainwell Could Probably Be Poached From The Struggling Buccaneers
Few teams have been as disappointing as the Buccaneers have been through the first three weeks of the season. Unfortunately, with Baker Mayfield dislocating his thumb against the Vikings on Sunday, the light at the end of the tunnel appears awfully distant.
He’ll be on the shelf for at least three weeks, and they’ll be relying on undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels to right the ship (no pun intended) in his absence. If they continue losing games, they might look to sell. That would make someone like Gainwell, whom they signed to a two-year, $14 million deal this offseason, very interesting for a Vikings team looking for some stability at the position.
Gainwell has only 16 touches through the first three games. He’s practically been phased out of their offense, and they aren’t locked into him long term. However, he’s still got plenty of talent. He’s only one year removed from a season in which he put up over 1,000 yards from scrimmage and 8 touchdowns with the Steelers.
Meanwhile, Aaron Jones Sr. has been dependable, but he’s averaged only 3.9 yards per carry thus far. The Vikings have also enjoyed a polar opposite season to Tampa Bay. They’re one of the more surprising 3-0 teams, especially considering two of those wins came with a backup QB under center.
Minnesota is in win-now mode, and the Bucs are careening towards unfortunate win-later mode. That could make both teams logical trade partners if they hoped to capitalize on their respective situations.
Do The Vikings Have Enough Depth At The Position?
The question of the hour. Honestly, it seems like the Vikings might be set at running back. Sure, they don’t have any blue-chip talents, but they’ve taken a shotgun approach at improving the room through free agency, adding four backs in the past two weeks.
Would adding Gainwell make sense? Since he’d automatically be the best of the bunch (besides Mason when he’s back in the lineup), maybe it would. It would also give them stability beyond this season, with him also being locked in through the 2027 campaign.
However, they’ve seemingly been content with picking off the scrap heap to cure their RB woes thus far. It would probably require quite the value in order to sway them off that approach when it comes to Gainwell.
Vikings Urged To Trade For Versatile RB Amid Injury Woes