Could a trade involving RB Alexander Mattison be in the works?

With their backfield decimated by injuries, could the Baltimore Ravens attempt to make a trade for Minnesota Vikings running back Alexander Mattison in the near future?

If there is a franchise that knows about running back suffering serious injuries, it would be the Minnesota Vikings. Over the years, the Vikings have seen guys like Adrian Peterson and Dalvin Cook miss a significant amount of time due to injury, and way back in the day, a knee injury is what ended up forcing former Minnesota running back Chuck Foreman into early retirement.

So Vikings fans can totally relate to what the fan base of the Baltimore Ravens is currently experiencing with the running backs on their roster.

On Thursday, Gus Edwards reportedly suffered a knee injury that is expected to keep him out for the entire 2021 season according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. If his injury does end up keeping him out of action for the year, Edwards will be the third Ravens running back in the last two weeks to suffer a season-ending injury along with J.K. Dobbins and Justice Hill.

Could the Baltimore Ravens attempt to acquire Alexander Mattison from the Minnesota Vikings?

Everyone is very aware that Cook is the top running back on Minnesota’s current roster heading into the 2021 season. Alexander Mattison will be the No. 2 guy in the Vikings’ offensive backfield for the third year in a row and Minnesota currently has Ameer Abdullah on the practice squad if he’s needed.

Given how dire their current situation is, it wouldn’t be surprising if Baltimore made a call to the Vikings in the near future to see if there was any way they could make a trade for Mattison. At this point in time, however, he’s probably not someone Minnesota is willing to send anywhere else.

Earlier this year, the Vikings used a fourth-round pick to draft former Iowa State running back Kene Nwangwu. Unfortunately, Nwangwu was placed on injured reserve to start the season, which means he will be out of action for at least three games before he can return to the field.

If the rookie was currently healthy and not on injured reserve, then a Mattison trade to the Ravens would be much more believable. Minnesota likes their No. 2 running back, but they also know he’s not irreplaceable.

Cook gets the majority of the touches each week anyways, so it’s not like the loss of Mattison would completely alter the Vikings’ offense. Nwangwu was looking impressive in training camp before he suffered his injury and he probably would have been just fine as Minnesota’s No. 2 guy in their backfield if the team decided to send Mattison to Baltimore.

But unless the Ravens are willing to offer a second or first-round pick in return, there’s no reason to expect the Vikings to trade Mattison anytime soon.