During the last few weeks, there have been some rumblings about veteran running back Cam Akers possibly re-signing with the Minnesota Vikings this offseason. Most recently, ESPN listed Akers re-signing with the Vikings as an official NFL transaction that took place on July 2nd.
The transaction is still pending a physical according to the listing on ESPN, and on Tuesday, KSTP's Darren Wolfson revealed on SKOR North's "Minnesota Sports with Mackey & Judd" podcast whether the listing is valid or not.
"That was sent to me via social media, a direct message. I then followed up with somebody close to Cam , and I will read verbatim what this person told me the other day.
...'That is correct.'
So, we're still awaiting word on the physical. That's a big chunk of this. He's already recovered pretty nicely from one Achilles tear, but now we're talking about a second Achilles tear. So, that's an extensive physical. But yes, all signs point to ."
So, yes, it seems as long as Akers is able to pass his physical with Minnesota, he will be back on the team's roster by the start of training camp at the end of the month.
Where does Cam Akers fit in with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024?
Last year, the Vikings acquired Akers in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams, and he wound appearing in a total of six games before he unfortunately tore his Achilles in Week 9. During his six contests in a Minnesota uniform, he scored one touchdown and averaged 4.2 yards per touch on 49 total touches.
If Akers ends up passing his physical and officially re-signing with the Vikings, it will be interesting to see what the team has in mind for him during the upcoming season.
Minnesota signed former Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones earlier this year, and he's expected to be the top guy in the team's offensive backfield for 2024. In his third year with the Vikings, Ty Chandler is expected to either split reps with Jones or be the team's No. 2 running back next season at the very least.
This would leave Akers, Kene Nwangwu, DeWayne McBride, and Myles Gaskin to compete for one or two more spots on Minnesota's final running back depth chart for the 2024 campaign.
Given his experience and his history with Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell, Akers would seem to have the edge over the other three. But his health will likely play a big factor in his future with the team, as it's fair to assume recovering from a torn Achilles for the second time since 2021 is going to have an effect on some of his on-field abilities.
At the same time, if Minnesota is close to re-signing Akers, then the team probably doesn't feel too confident about the running backs on its current roster not named Aaron Jones and Ty Chandler.