Inside The Huskies

Minnesota Vikings Promote Ex-Husky Gaskin to Active Roster

The NFL team brings up the UW's all-time leading rusher after struggling in season opener.
Roman Tomashoff|
Minnesota Vikings Promote Ex-Husky Gaskin to Active Roster
Minnesota Vikings Promote Ex-Husky Gaskin to Active Roster

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Washington HuskiesMinnesota Vikings

After falling 20-17 to Tampa Bay in their season opener, the Minnesota Vikings have called for running-back reinforcements, elevating former University of Washington standout Myles Gaskin to the active roster.

Gaskin had a tumultuous lead-up to this seson. The Miami Dolphins released him before he signed with Minnesota, which released him again and signed him back to its practice squad.

He now joins the Vikings' 53-man roster and it appears that there could be a waiting role for the 26-year-old running back.

Minnesota's running game had a lot of trouble against the Buccaneers' defensive front, which is spearheaded by three Husky alums: Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Vita Vea and Greg Gaines. 

Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensa's solution was to counter with another former Husky.

After Minnesota released running back Dalvin Cook over the offseason, the consensus around the NFL was the team would turn to Alexander Mattison, who had been Cook's backup since 2019. But in his first game as the starter, Mattison took his 11 carries for just 34 yards.

The Vikings averaged just 2.4 yards per carry, picking up 41 rushing yards on 17 attempts, and Gaskin could be what head coach Kevin O'Connell is looking for.

Gaskin's best year with the Dolphins came in 2021, the only season in which he's played in all 17 games. Starting 10 games, he carried the ball 173 times for 612 yards and 3 touchdowns, and added 49 receptions for 4 additional scores.

While in the short term he probably won't unseat Mattison, Gaskin should have a place in the backfield and receive a chance to make an impact in O'Connell's offense, which finished seventh in the NFL in total offense in 2022.

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Roman Tomashoff
ROMAN TOMASHOFF

I've followed the Huskies for my entire life, and to be in a position where I get to cover them full-time is nothing short of an honor. After graduating from Lasell University in 2019, I moved to Seattle to pursue my dream of working in sports media. While writing for the Husky Haul, I also covered local sports for the Everett Daily Herald before the COVID-19 pandemic. After being hired by Realdawg.com in February of 2021, I also transitioned into doing a lot of entertainment writing, as I work on a variety of magazines as a contributing writer for Centennial Media, and have also contributed to Emmy Magazine, as well as Walt Disney Television Studios. 

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