Jordan Mason landing on Injured Reserve in Week 2 opened the door for Vikings rookie running back Demond Claiborne to carve out a role on offense. Unfortunately, the sixth-round selection got tripped up short of the doorway.
Aaron Jones Sr. has handled 85 of the 94 attempts out of the Vikings' backfield since Mason went down. He's been a workhorse. Meanwhile, Claiborne has had 6 carries for 13 yards.
The Wake Forest Product may have been hyped in training camp, but that feels like a decade ago at this point. None of that early promise has translated to in-game action (whether it be during the preseason or the regular season).
VikingsOnSI's Devon Platana thinks that Mason returning from IR could spell the end of Claiborne's time on the active roster.
"That track record will vault Mason back into the No. 2 role in the backfield, leaving Claiborne and Dallas to compete for RB3 honors," Platana wrote. "It's unlikely the Vikings would keep three RBs on the 53-man roster at that point, and given Dallas's familiarity with general manager Nolan Teasley from their time in Seattle, cutting Claiborne and trying to re-sign him to the practice squad seems like the likeliest scenario."
Meanwhile, fellow VikingsOnSI writer Adam Carlson also believes Jaydon Blue, whom the Eagles cut on Tuesday, could be a potential reason to move off Claiborne.
"Claiborne is only 23 years old, so there's plenty of time for him to find his footing in the NFL . But until he can, the Vikings might want to look into a player like the 5-foot-9, 198-pound Blue to hold down the RB3 job until he is ready.
"…if a tryout and physical go well for the young running back, the Vikings might be smart to add him to the practice squad and potentially elevate him to the 53-man roster if they need a speedy running back with some experience to take pressure off Jones or Mason."
While it's too early to completely count Blue out, his career hasn't exactly gotten off on the right foot, either. The Cowboys drafted him in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and he lasted only one year in Dallas (when he had 38 attempts for 129 yards and 1 rushing TD) before being waived on roster cut-down day in August.
He then signed with the Eagles practice squad and played in one game before being cut. With him being a similarly twitchy athlete to Claiborne, his trajectory through his first two seasons could be a cautionary tale for the Vikings rookie if he can't turn it around.
With Jordan Mason returning from injury, the Vikings might not need to add anyone else to the backfield. However, if they do, I don't expect them to land a carbon copy of the guy they'd be replacing.
Even if Claiborne survives the season in Minnesota, it's safe to assume he has his work cut out for him when it comes to carving out a role on offense. He has a better chance to contribute on special teams as a returner, but they might not want to give him work there considering the fumbling concerns that persisted throughout training camp.
Claiborne just turned 23, and he'll have plenty of runway left to turn his career around. However, he'll probably have to wait until 2027 (which might've been the plan all along) to do that.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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