After signing veteran running back Aaron Jones to 2-year, $20 million ahead of free agency, the general consensus was that the Vikings were going to take a running back in the 2025 NFL Draft.

That might’ve changed on Saturday night as the Vikings acquired running back Jordan Mason in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers. A source confirmed the deal to the Pioneer Press shortly after news broke.

The move carries very little risk for the Vikings. They only had to surrender up a sixth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to go along with a late pick swap in the 2025 NFL Draft. A small price to pay for a player that could fill a key role in the offense.

It’s not hard to imagine Mason making an immediate impact for the Vikings as a nice complement to Jones in the backfield.

— Dane Mizutani

Falcons paying Cousins’ roster bonus

By keeping quarterback Kirk Cousins on the Falcons roster through Saturday, his $10 million roster bonus has become fully guaranteed, according to multiple reports.

The payment was due before March 17, the fifth day of the start of the new league business year. The Falcons have repeatedly expressed their plans to retain Cousins, who lost his starting job last season, on the roster as the backup quarterback.

The Falcons signed Cousins to a four-year deal worth up to $180 million.

Both the team and player have wound up in a messy situation.

The Falcons benched Cousins for rookie Michael Penix Jr., their surprise pick at No. 8 overall who’s now their quarterback moving forward.

Cousins, who turns 37 in August, now wants the opportunity to start elsewhere. He reportedly met with Falcons owner Arthur Blank to express that desire. But that doesn’t mean the Falcons will oblige. If the Falcons want to get something for Cousins in a trade, they might have to wait to make a move.

Cousins has a $27.5 million guaranteed salary and $40 million salary-cap hit, but outsiders are led to believe it’s an inevitable divorce.

Chargers sign Becton to beef up offensive line

The Los Angeles Chargers beefed up their offensive line on Friday by signing guard Mekhi Becton.

The 6-7, 363-pound Becton started 19 games at right guard last season for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, helping pave the way for running back Saquon Barkley to rush for 2,504 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Becton was the No. 11 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft by the New York Jets out of Louisville where he earned first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors in 2019.

He has started 49 of 50 career games, including the postseason, in the NFL.

The Chargers also agreed to terms with linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips on Friday.

The 28-year-old played for Houston last season on a one-year deal.

Phillips has appeared in 72 career games with the Texans, Baltimore, New York Jets and Buffalo.

He was undrafted out of Illinois, where he played two seasons for the Illini and started 21 of 23 games.

Juszczyk returning to San Francisco

Fullback Kyle Juszczyk is returning to the San Francisco 49ers on a two-year, $8 million contract just days after being cut, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Saturday.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal hadn’t been announced. ESPN first reported the deal. The Niners had officially released Juszczyk on Tuesday instead of paying him a $4.1 million salary this season and up to an additional $500,000 in offseason workout and per-game roster bonuses. The team took on a $3.6 million dead cap charge with the move but brought him back on the new deal. Juszczyk was nearly cut last season but agreed to take a pay cut to stay in San Francisco.

The 33-year-old Juszczyk was one of the first players signed after coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch took over in 2017 and has been a key part of the offense since then thanks to his versatility.

In an era when few teams use fullbacks, Juszczyk has played about half the offensive snaps during his time with San Francisco and has made the Pro Bowl all eight seasons with the team and nine times overall. He was a first-team All-Pro in 2023 and second-teamer in 2024.

Juszczyk had 19 catches for 200 yards and two touchdowns last season, while also rushing for 26 yards and a TD. He has 184 catches for 1,895 yards and 13 TDs in eight seasons with the Niners, along with 237 yards rushing and six more TDs on the ground.

Titans release Awuzie after just one season

The Tennessee Titans released Chidobe Awuzie on Saturday after signing the veteran cornerback to a three-year contract last spring.

Awuzie was guaranteed $23 million in the deal that could have netted him up to $36 million as the Titans spent big in 2024 trying to plug major holes, especially in their secondary.

According to Spotrac.com, Awuzie got $19 million at signing. His release avoids the $3.98 million guaranteed on the fifth day of the new league year, which is Sunday.