Jones Earned the Job. Mason Gets to Watch Him Keep It.

Jordan Mason is back on the active roster, cleared from the fractured thumb that cost him the first six weeks of the season. The Vikings activated him Saturday, and he'll be available against the Colts. That's the transaction. What's less tidy is where he fits.

Aaron Jones Sr. ran 437 yards and scored twice while Mason was out. He also caught the ball out of the backfield — 12 receptions in six games — which means he wasn't just filling a role, he was expanding one. The depth chart still lists Mason at the top of the running back position, but depth charts are updated faster than trust is rebuilt, and Jones has been one of the more reliable pieces on a 6-0 team that hasn't had many.

The Vikings host Indianapolis this week, a Colts team that has dropped two straight and will be motivated. Minnesota doesn't need to force a backfield reshuffling right now. My read is Mason comes back as a rotational piece — maybe a situational option, maybe a goal-line presence — while Jones holds the primary workload he's earned. That could change if Jones gets nicked up or if Mason looks like himself quickly. But nothing about this team's current rhythm suggests they're eager to fix something that isn't broken.