Vikings Place Cam Akers on IR and Make Another QB Move

Oct 23, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Cam Akers (31) runs with the ball against the San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa (97) in the second quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Vikings lost yet another player for the season after RB Cam Akers suffered a torn Achilles on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.

As a result, the Vikings expectedly placed Akers on injured reserve on Wednesday, and his season is over. Minnesota will now need to turn to their reserve backs like Ty Chandler and Kene Nwangwu to take on some of the workload that the veteran had been given.

That wasn’t the only roster move made by Minnesota, though. They also made yet another QB move by signing Tanner Morgan to the practice squad. In order to create room for him, DT Sheldon Day was released.

Vikings Place Cam Akers on IR and Make Another QB Move

Cam Akers
Oct 15, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Cam Akers (31) catches a pass in the second half as Chicago Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards (53) closes in to defend at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports

The Vikings announced these roster moves via social media, tweeting, “The #Vikings have placed RB Cam Akers on IR. QB Tanner Morgan has been signed to the practice squad and DL Sheldon Day has been released from the practice squad.”

With Jaren Hall suffering a concussion during the first quarter of last weekend’s game, the team needed some extra depth at the QB position seeing as Josh Dobbs and Sean Mannion were the only healthy ones left with the group.

Morgan had been on the Vikings practice squad earlier this season, signing prior to their Week 5 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. He was then released following that matchup but now returns to the team.

Nov 5, 2022; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers quarterback Tanner Morgan (2) looks to pass during the first quarter against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

Morgan spent five years with the Minnesota Gophers throughout his collegiate career from 2018-2022 and helped lead them to four bowl game appearances.

His collegiate career at Minnesota got off to a very promising start, particularly during his sophomore season of 2019 where he completed 66% of his passes for 3253 yards, 30 TDs, and 7 INTs. His passing yards and passing TDs each ranked second in the Big Ten that year.

Following that season, though, things progressively went downhill for Morgan and the Gophers. Minnesota finished the 2020 season with a 3-4 record and most recently have gone 9-4 in each of the 2021 and 2022 seasons with Guaranteed Rate Bowl and Pinstripe Bowl victories.

Dec 29, 2022; Bronx, NY, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers quarterback Tanner Morgan (2) calls a play at the line of scrimmage during the second quarter of the 2022 Pinstripe Bowl against the Syracuse Orange at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

In 2022, he played just nine games due to a hit taken in the first half of the Gophers game against Nebraska, and he completed 66.9% of his passes for 1382 yards, 9 TDs, and 5 INTs.

Morgan finished his Gophers career with 9469 passing yards, 65 TDs, and 32 INTs. He finished his collegiate career second in program history for both passing yards and passing TDs behind only Adam Weber.

Now, he is going to once again help the Vikings in their QB room as the team prepares to take on the New Orleans Saints in Week 10.

Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.