Vikings Pull Off a Really Savvy Signing
The Vikings pulling off the contract for Cam Akers didn’t hit as much of a surprise. After all, the runner has been onboarded in both of 2023 and 2024, so there’s a well-worn path between team and player.
What’s fascinating is simply how the team signed Akers. As basically everyone can see, the free-agent deal means not needing to forfeit a draft pick to get the resilient runner back to the Twin Cities. The benefits keep on coming (not trying to make this sound like an infomercial). Signing Akers to a practice-squad deal both preserves precious cap space while syncing up the Minnesota runners’ timelines in a very savvy manner.
Vikings Pull Off the Savvy Signing
Presumably, Mr. Akers wanted a decent payday, possibly contributing to his slow progress through free agency in the spring and summer.
He’s coming off a reasonably strong 2024 season. Minnesota’s new RB2 played for Houston before getting shipped north to work with Minnesota yet again. Tally up the numbers and we’re talking about an NFL player who helped his teams last season: 104 carries for 444 yards and 2 touchdowns. The 4.3 yards-per-carry average is far from an eyesore and remember that he tacked on 14 catches for 68 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Going into free agency of 2025, the Vikings’ desire to improve their rushing attack involved saying no to Cam Akers while saying yes to all of Aaron Jones, Jordan Mason, Ty Chandler, and Zavier Scott.
The issue? Simply that a pair are already hurt. And not just hurt, but placed on injured reserve. Chandler got sent to the infirmary following the Week 1 win. Jones joined him following the Week 2 shellacking. What was once looking revitalized and vibrant was suddenly needing bubble wrap to protect the pair who remained: Mr. Mason and Mr. Scott (who has never taken an NFL rep in the regular season).
Inserting Cam Akers into the mix therefore makes a ton of sense.
Consider how Janik Eckardt discussed the upside: “The veteran has experience in the system and knows the coaching staff and many of his teammates. It just made sense for the Vikings to sign him to take over as the new backup runner with Ty Chandler and Aaron Jones sidelined.”
Not too long afterwards, Eckardt offers a few more thoughts on how Akers makes sense.
“The franchise wanted more juice from Jones’ replacement and traded for Mason this offseason,” Eckardt writes, “but under the current circumstances, Akers is the best option.” Indeed, the best course of action under the current circumstances — ones that are far from ideal — is to re-welcome Cam Akers, someone who can basically be ready to go since he understands Kevin O’Connell’s offense so well.
Now, consider the benefit that may not be as obvious: the Vikings can elevate Cam Akers from Week 3 to Week 5 without there being any issue. Conveniently, those weeks line up perfectly with the minimum amount of games that Ty Chandler needs to be away.
Chandler missed Week 2, shaving off one week of his four-week minimum while on the IR. Theoretically, Akers could slot into the RB2/3 role for the upcoming trio of weeks while Chandler recovers. The bye will arrive in Week 6 and then Minnesota could activate Chandler for Week 7 if health allows.
Part of the reason why that’s so important is because a team can only elevate a practice squad player three times before needing to clear room on the active roster. Minnesota can burn up those three freebies, bumping up Cam Akers thrice while then journeying into the bye.
The decision can then be made about whether to fully onboard the runner by clearing room on the 53, a decision that will be based on Akers’ performance alongside the health of the Vikings’ RB3 (Chandler) and RB1 (Jones).
Consider, as well, Aaron Jones’ time on the IR.
Again, we’re dealing with a minimum of four weeks away. That means the RB is gone for all of Week 3 through to Week 5. The Week 6 bye is a rest week for everyone and doesn’t factor into the IR timeline. Week 7 — the time when Chandler can return — is the the final week for the IR minimum for Jones. He can come back in Week 8.
These weeks are important when understanding the Akers add since the newcomer can chew up most of those games where Jones is gone (depending on how long Jones’ hamstring keeps him sidelined).
The Vikings, in short, demonstrated some savvy when signing Cam Akers. The contract stabilizes the floor in the short term without needing to sacrifice a pick, lots of cap space, or even a roster spot. In the meantime, Minnesota can assess the health (or, as the case may be, lack thereof) of their top runners before needing to make a full decision about the running back position after the bye.
Next up is a game versus the Bengals at noon on Sunday, September 21st. Seeing Cam Akers gain ground with the ball in his hands will go a long way in helping Minnesota to bounce back from a brutal Week 2.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
