Former Vikings Alexander Mattison, Oli Udoh Sign With New Teams
Former Vikings Alexander Mattison and Oli Udoh have agreed to sign with new teams, according to reports on Monday. Mattison is headed to Las Vegas to join the Raiders, while Udoh is signing with the Saints. Both players were drafted by the Vikings in 2019 and were re-signed by Minnesota last year after their rookie contracts expired.
Mattison was released by the Vikings earlier this offseason after a highly disappointing 2023 campaign as the team's starter. Now he lands with the Raiders, who have Zamir White and ex-Viking Ameer Abdullah in their RB room (and could also draft a running back in April). Mattison should have an opportunity to compete for a role on offense in a committee with White.
Despite coming off a rough season, Mattison will be 26 this fall and has over 3,000 career yards from scrimmage with 17 touchdowns. His best seasons came early in his career as a backup to Dalvin Cook. His yards per carry average has been below 4.0 in each of the last three years. The Boise State product and former third-round pick is a physical runner who also has two seasons with at least 30 receptions out of the backfield.
Coincidentally, the Vikings, Packers, and Raiders all shuffled running backs this offseason.
- Josh Jacobs: From LV to GB
- Aaron Jones: From GB to MIN
- Alexander Mattison: From MIN to LV
Udoh, who was a sixth-round pick out of Elon, started 18 games for the Vikings over five seasons, 16 of which came in 2021. He played right guard during that '21 season but will presumably serve as a backup offensive tackle in New Orleans. That's the position that the 6'6" Udoh has worked at for most of his career.
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