Saturday opened with the 49ers making a shocking backfield transaction — they re-signed fullback Kyle Juszczyk five days after an emotional goodbye — and ended with them making an expected one: Running back Jordan Mason is headed to the Minnesota Vikings via trade.

The 49ers will receive a 2026 sixth-round pick from Minnesota and, perhaps more notably, a second fifth-rounder in this upcoming 2025 NFL Draft. That selection, No. 160, comes via a pick swap — the 49ers sent the Vikings No. 187 in the sixth round.

Consider that the 49ers have drafted stalwarts like George Kittle, Deommodore Lenoir, Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga in the fifth round. Another pick there — the 49ers received a fifth-rounder by trading receiver Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders — translates to solid value for the 49ers. In fact, Mason fetched a similar price in overall draft-pick point value as Matt Breida and Jeff Wilson Jr., two running backs the 49ers had traded for fifth-round picks in prior years.

The 49ers placed the second-round tender on Mason, who was a pending restricted free agent, before the start of the new league year last week. That offer was for $5.3 million and would’ve earned the 49ers a second-round pick had another team outbid them for Mason. General manager John Lynch did this not because the 49ers planned to keep Mason but rather to ensure the 49ers wouldn’t lose him without compensation, as would’ve almost certainly been the case had the 49ers extended only the $3.3 million original-round tender.

Lynch then worked out the trade with Minnesota outside the tender process. The Vikings, looking for a No. 2 to starting running back Aaron Jones, then signed Mason to a new two-year deal worth up to $12 million with $7 million fully guaranteed.

That’s a hefty raise for Mason, who joined the 49ers as an undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech in 2022 and made an average of about $800,000 over his three seasons in the Bay Area. The bruising 224-pounder ran very well in a reserve “closer” role for the 49ers — the team used his physically punishing style to close games before he started six contests in the injured Christian McCaffrey’s place to begin 2024 — but never settled into an efficient receiving rhythm with quarterback Brock Purdy.

That’s what truly differentiates Mason and McCaffrey in coach Kyle Shanahan’s system, which stresses pass-catching adaptability from its backs. And that’s where rookie Isaac Guerendo also shined after Mason suffered a 2024 high-ankle sprain.

The writing was on the wall, then, entering this offseason. The 49ers, looking to tailor their offense around Purdy and needing receiving efficiency out of the backfield for that, considered Mason to be their No. 3 running back behind McCaffrey and Guerendo.

Pair that with the fact that Mason ran well enough in 2024 to fit higher on another team’s pecking order at running back, and the ideal ingredients for a trade were in place. Mason averaged 3.35 yards after contact per attempt in 2024, which ranked No. 10 among 50 qualifying running backs.

The 49ers also have running backs Patrick Taylor Jr. and Israel Abanikanda on their 90-man roster, but expect them to scour what’s considered a strong draft class at the position. Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton, and Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson are considered the top backs in this year’s crop, but it’s worth noting that the 49ers have found production at the position using much less draft capital.

Mason, after all, joined the 49ers as an undrafted free agent and ended up producing much more draft capital than that for them. That’s good business.