Jordan Mason trade grades: Rating Vikings' $12,000,000 move for 49ers RB as Kyle Shanahan rebuilds franchise

An intriguing trade happened on Saturday night between the San Francisco 49ers and the Minnesota Vikings as the 49ers continued to shed payroll. The 49ers sent running back Jordan Mason and the 187th-overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for the Vikings' 160th pick in the 2025 NFL draft and their 2026 sixth-round selection.

The trade also included Mason being signed to a two-year contract with a maximum value of $12 million with more than $7 million officially guaranteed as well.

With all the information now available, we can assess how all the parties involved did with this trade. Let's take a look at the grades that Jordan Mason, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Minnesota Vikings receive from this move.

Grading Jordan Mason's trade from 49ers to Vikings

Vikings: B+

The Minnesota Vikings getting a cheap backup running back in Jordan Mason is a plus with Aaron Jones being the lead back. The pick swaps in the 2025 NFL draft are not significant enough to cause too much concern and this should be a good sign of what the Minnesota Vikings should be in 2025, a running football team with coach Kevin O'Connell calling the shots.

49ers: C

The San Francisco 49ers shed some additional payroll off their books but gave up a similar draft pick in this year's draft to get a sixth-round pick in next year's draft. Jordan Mason was the team's backup running back behind Christian McCaffrey, who has been suffering through injuries throughout his NFL career.

Now that the team has a weaker offensive line and is getting older, the 2026 sixth-round pick is not expected to be a significant player on their roster in the next few years. The rebuild continues for Kyle Shanahan heading into the season but the 49ers got worse by this trade.

Jordan Mason: B

Jordan Mason still gets to play for a team that is in a contending period with elite offensive weapons and arguably a better offensive line, so it is difficult to see many flaws on his side of things.

He now has a multi-year contract to be with the Vikings as a backup running back. This is a great spot for him to land and either grow offensively with J.J. McCarthy or be on a team looking to contend with a veteran quarterback.