The Vikings got the result they wanted in Week 2, but the offense didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard in a 9-3 win over the Bears. And for fans hoping to see Demond Claiborne finally get a real look, the game was even more frustrating.
Claiborne, a rookie fifth-round pick and the 198th overall selection, finished his regular-season debut without a carry and with just one target, which he turned into a two-yard catch. That came after he was a healthy scratch in the Week 1 win over the Packers, so the expectation was that the rookie might finally get a chance to show something once Jordan Mason (thumb) landed on injured reserve earlier in the week.
Instead, Minnesota barely used him at all.
It’s fair to wonder what exactly the Vikings were asking Claiborne to do. He played only two offensive snaps, and both came on passing plays.
That’s a tiny sample size, especially for a back who isn’t known for his receiving chops. During his time at Wake Forest, Claiborne was targeted just 55 times in 44 games, an average of 1.3 targets per game.
He also had eight drops in college, including six in 2025 alone, according to Pro Football Focus.
The preseason usage told a similar story. Minnesota seemed wary of leaning on him as a receiver, giving him just one target across three exhibition games while handing him 28 carries.
That’s what made Sunday’s deployment so strange. Claiborne needed to make real strides as a pass-catcher to carve out an NFL role, but the Vikings used him only in situations that played away from his strengths.
DeeJay Dallas was part of the picture, too. Dallas logged two carries for eight yards, which isn’t much, but it still represented two more rushing chances than Claiborne got. Earlier in the week, Kevin O'Connell also talked up Dallas and said he would see an expanded role with Mason sidelined.
Meanwhile, the Vikings are leaning heavily on Aaron Jones Sr. He handled 23 of Minnesota’s 28 carries in Week 2, an 82.1 percent share, after getting 12 of 34 carries the week before.
Jones has rarely been asked to carry that kind of load in recent seasons, though, hitting the 20-carry mark only once in 2025 and three times in 2024. With his 32nd birthday coming in December, making that the regular plan would be a dangerous game.
That’s why Claiborne still makes sense as part of the solution. Giving him more rushing work while Mason is out could take some of the burden off Jones and help preserve his legs. It would also let Dallas stay more involved on special teams, where he’s known to contribute.
Week 3 will be another chance to see whether Minnesota changes course. The Vikings head to Tampa Bay to face a Buccaneers defense that has been tough against the run, holding Cincinnati to 106 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries in Week 1 and limiting Cleveland to 45 yards on 22 carries before Sunday’s game was postponed because of lightning in the fourth quarter.
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Caleb Williams Exit Suddenly Looms Over Vikings Bears Rivalry
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For the Vikings, the bigger picture is less about one play than what it might mean for a division opponent already dealing with uncertainty at quarterback. Medical experts who looked at the injury believe it is a hamstring strain, the kind that can force a player to miss time, and the timing could matter well beyond one afternoon in Week 2. [Read more 🡒]