Vikings Swap Backfield Depth: Jermar Jefferson In, Jordan Mims Out

The Vikings shuffled the bottom of their backfield Wednesday, signing running back Jermar Jefferson and waiving Jordan Mims to make room. It's the kind of move that barely registers on the transaction wire, but it tells you where Minnesota's depth chart stands heading into the meat of camp.

Jefferson, 26, is a 2021 seventh-round pick of the Lions who has never carved out a real role. Across 11 career games he's rushed for just 96 yards and two touchdowns. His 2024 was even quieter — two appearances for the Cardinals, both spent exclusively on special teams. He was briefly with the 49ers during this offseason's program before landing in Minnesota.

Mims, the guy heading out, only joined the Vikings late last month and never got a chance to establish anything. He too had a short 49ers stint this offseason. In his lone 2025 game he posted 0 PPR points, which is about all you need to know about where he stood in the pecking order.

The through-line here is that both players are essentially interchangeable camp arms competing for practice reps and a longshot roster spot. Minnesota apparently preferred Jefferson's slightly deeper resume and special-teams reps, but nobody should confuse this for a meaningful upgrade to the offense.

The Fantasy Fallout

For fantasy purposes, this is a non-event. Jefferson has never sniffed a workload that would put him on a redraft radar, and a training-camp signing this late doesn't change that math. Mims is now unranked and unrostered — if you were somehow holding him in a deep dynasty league, you can let him go without a second thought.

Bottom line: keep Jefferson on your watch list only as a name to file away if injuries pile up in the Minnesota backfield. Until then, there's nothing to add, nothing to start, and no reason to burn a roster spot. Move along and focus your waiver dollars elsewhere.