Former Dolphins Running Backs in Different Direction

Myles Gaskin's roller coaster season with the Minnesota Vikings takes another turn

Minnesota Vikings running back Myles Gaskin (37) during warmups prior to the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed were fixtures in the Miami Dolphins running back room for a couple of years, but their post-Miami careers took another turn Tuesday.

In this case, it was good news for Gaskin and not-so-good news for Ahmed.

Gaskin was signed to the Minnesota Vikings active roster from their practice squad, while Ahmed was released from the Denver Broncos practice squad.

This is the latest step in a major roller coaster for Gaskin this season with the Vikings.

This is his list of transactions this season:

Aug. 24 — Signed to Vikings practice squad

Sept. 7 — Elevated for the Vikings season opener against the New York Giants

Sept. 14 — Elevated for the Vikings game against the San Francisco 49ers

Sept. 18 — Signed to the Vikings active roster

Oct. 3 — Released by the Vikings

Oct. 4 — Re-signed to the Vikings practice squad

Oct. 5 — Elevated for the Vikings game against the New York Jets in London, England

Oct. 8 — Re-signed to the Vikings active roster

Gaskin led the Dolphins in rushing in both 2020 and 2021 before his role diminished in 2022 after the arrival of Raheem Mostert.

As for Ahmed, he had signed with the Broncos practice squad Oct. 1, some six weeks after the Dolphins released him.

After being claimed off waivers from the San Francisco 49ers, Gaskin played 38 games with Miami over four seasons and his highlight was a 122-yard rushing performance in a 22-12 victory against the New England Patriots in 2020.

SALEH REACTION

The division rival New York Jets made big news Tuesday when they fired Robert Saleh five games into his fourth seasons as head coach.

The Dolphins have their share of players who spent time with Saleh, either with the Jets or the San Francisco 49ers, where he was on the same staff as Mike McDaniel.

The most recent Saleh player on the Dolphins roster is quarterback Tim Boyle, who was with the Jets last season.

"It's unfortunate," Boyle said. "You never want to see a coach get fired. But they're doing their thing up in New York and I'm on the Miami Dolphins right now, so I'm going to stay in my lane.

"I think the culture is great over there. Obviously, when you have a defensive-minded head coach, the defense is definitely going to take over. So I think, as you've seen, the Jets' defense has been wonderful the past couple years. And they're just starting to get stuff going on offense. Obviously we struggled last year on offense but they got enough coaches over there; I know the coaching staff pretty well with (Nathaniel) Hackett on offense, a bunch of players, and they're gonna get it turned around."

Among the former 49ers players on the Dolphins is running back Raheem Mostert, who was in San Francisco with Saleh from 2017-20.

“I haven’t really fully digested it yet," Mostert said. "I think that he’s going to be all right wherever he goes if he gets picked up. I think that he’s a great coordinator, great coach and he brings the best out of players. It’s unfortunate that he was let go over there but still excited to see where he lands.”