The Vikings’ backfield suddenly looks a little different, and the timing matters.
Minnesota waived DeeJay Dallas on Friday, a move that opens the door for Jordan Mason to come off injured reserve before Sunday’s noon matchup with the Indianapolis Colts at home. Mason hasn’t played since Week 1, leaving Aaron Jones Sr. to carry the load while working through a sprained MCL that became public only recently and has not appeared on the injury report in weeks.
Jones has handled the extra work well enough. Through five games, he has 97 carries for 410 yards, averaging 4.2 yards per attempt. But the challenge waiting for Minnesota on Sunday is a big one: Jonathan Taylor, one of the league’s most productive backs over the last two seasons and a two-time 1,500-yard rusher.
If the Vikings can slow Taylor down, the rest of the Colts roster looks manageable, especially with tight end Tyler Warren sidelined by injury. Still, that’s the kind of theory that only matters if it shows up on the field. Minnesota can’t afford to get caught looking past Indianapolis.
A win would move the Vikings to 6-0 and drop the Colts to 2-5, a result that could push Indianapolis closer to a teardown at the trade deadline. And if that happens, Taylor’s name could move right back into the center of the conversation.
According to Jonathan Jones of The Athletic, the Colts are not taking trade calls on Taylor right now. But he also wrote that if the losses keep piling up, that stance could change.
Indianapolis just fired general manager Chris Ballard, and interim GM Ed Dodds is now in charge. Jones said the Giants and Vikings are the two teams he views as possible suitors if Taylor becomes available.
“The Indianapolis Colts are not entertaining discussions of a potential Jonathan Taylor trade. At least not yet.
Indianapolis is 2-4 and two games out of a wild-card spot. After speaking with sources in Indy and around the league, my understanding is that the team needs to see what the landscape is like in a few weeks before deciding on their star running back…
…Sources believe the New York Giants and Vikings could be potential suitors for Taylor if he’s available for trade. The Colts could look to reclaim some draft capital after sending two first-round picks to the Jets for Sauce Gardner last year, and Taylor would be the most expedient route to a high pick.”
Taylor is already under contract in Indianapolis on a two-year, $44 million extension signed Aug. 6.
The deal runs through 2028, averages $22 million per year, includes $39.02 million in guarantees and a $15 million signing bonus. His 2026 cap hit is $16.19 million, and he is not scheduled to reach free agency until 2029.
The contract also includes a $15 million fully guaranteed 2027 base salary in February and a $7.5 million roster bonus due in March 2028.
The buzz didn’t stop with Jones’ report. On Friday, Ian Rapoport said on The Pat McAfee Show that the Colts will have a decision to make on Taylor. Rapoport also pointed to a front-office connection: Dodds came from the Seattle Seahawks, just like Vikings general manager Nolan Teasley.
“As far as the Jonathan Taylor thing, Ed Dodds, who’s running the personnel department, does have ties to Seattle. Knows John Schneider incredibly well… By the way, same as Nolan Teasley, who’s in Minnesota.
Wonder if they could use one as well. If Jonathan Taylor is available, I would expect many teams to be interested.”
Taylor, 27, has been doing plenty to fuel that attention. In six games this season, he has 122 carries for 492 yards and seven rushing touchdowns, plus 15 catches for 163 yards. His 4.0 yards per carry is the lowest of his career, with his previous low coming in 2023 at 4.4.
Last season, Taylor led the NFL in carries with 323, rushing touchdowns with 18 and rushing first downs with 84, while piling up 1,585 rushing yards. That came after 1,431 yards in 2024, and both seasons ended with Pro Bowl nods, his second and third.
Over 90 career games, the Colts’ 2020 first-round pick out of Wisconsin has 8,090 rushing yards, 76 rushing touchdowns, and 202 receptions for 1,632 yards. His peak came in 2021, when he ran for 1,811 yards and 18 scores and earned first-team All-Pro honors.
Minnesota began the year planning to split the workload between Jones and Mason. In Week 1 against Green Bay, Mason had 15 carries to Jones’ 12 before a thumb injury landed him on injured reserve.
Since then, Jones has been the main man, while rookie Demond Claiborne and Dallas have barely factored in. Mason rushed for 758 yards and six touchdowns last season at 4.8 yards per carry, while Jones, now 31, has posted 4.2 yards per carry for the second straight year.
And there’s one more number that explains why Taylor keeps coming up in these conversations: since the start of the 2024 season, he has 24 runs of 20 yards or more. Jones has five over that same span.
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