When the Vikings lost to the Giants in the Wild Card round to end their season, there was a lot of uncertainty about what the future held for running back Alexander Mattison.
Mattison’s rookie deal was up and he was set for a trip to free agency that he thought would take him somewhere else. During an interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio this week, Mattison said he “actually didn’t think that I’d be back in Minnesota” and said it was a “blessing” to reach agreement on a new, two-year deal with the team in March.
The picture for Mattison changed again this month when the Vikings released Dalvin Cook and bumped Mattison up to the first rung of the depth chart in their backfield. Mattison said he’s always approached his time with the Vikings as if he was “the back” but that Cook’s departure “definitely changes things.”
“I’m thankful for having Dalvin in that running back room and challenging me to challenge him every single day, so that kind of helped me out within my preparation,” Mattison said. “Yeah, with that understanding of knowing kind of where my role is going to be and maximize it. I’ve been a lot more prepared in the way of understanding where I’m going to be at in the playbook, where I’m going to have to be at physically, you know, stamina. It’s just a whole bunch that I have to now take into account but without applying too much pressure, of course, because this is a game of ball that we have grown to love and grown to adapt to at all different levels. I’m definitely comfortable as a professional athlete and understanding what I have to do to get the job done. Now just cranking that thing up and getting ready for this opportunity that I have in front of me.”
Mattison only made six starts in his first four seasons, so it’s a bit of an understatement to say that things have changed for him this year. If he proves to be up to the task, it will likely be a while before his role changes again.
