Inside The Vikings

With Mattison in Concussion Protocol, Vikings Bring Back Veteran RB

Myles Gaskin gives the Vikings some additional depth at running back, where they're suddenly quite thin.
Will Ragatz|
With Mattison in Concussion Protocol, Vikings Bring Back Veteran RB
With Mattison in Concussion Protocol, Vikings Bring Back Veteran RB

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Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings are bringing veteran running back Myles Gaskin back to their practice squad, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Monday. He'll provide some much-needed depth at RB with Alexander Mattison in the concussion protocol.

Gaskin was previously signed by the Vikings at the end of August. He was then poached off their practice squad by the Rams in mid-October, but was waived last week. Now he's back in Minnesota on the PS.

The Vikings needed another option at running back, and it makes sense to go with a player who was in the building for all of September and half of October. Gaskin already has a grasp of Kevin O'Connell's offense and a familiarity with his surroundings.

Mattison suffered a concussion in Sunday's win over the Saints. That came one week after Cam Akers tore his Achilles, ending his season. The Vikings' two running backs late in the game were Ty Chandler and Kene Nwangwu, who entered the day with 13 combined touches all season (all of them from Chandler).

It's possible Mattison could clear the protocols in time to play next weekend in Denver, but neither K.J. Osborn nor Jaren Hall were available against the Saints after getting concussed against the Falcons. If Mattison isn't able to play against the Broncos, Chandler — who scored his first career TD on Sunday and had another called back due to a penalty — would be the lead back, with Nwangwu and Gaskin and rookie DeWayne McBride (practice squad) as possible depth options.

Gaskin, a seventh-round pick out of Washington in 2019, spent his first four NFL seasons with the Dolphins. Between the 2020 and '21 seasons, he had a total of 405 offensive touches for 1,818 yards and 12 touchdowns.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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