Questions Answered: The Next Trade for Vikings, Cam Akers in the House, a Main Problem
The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the October 16th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].
Questions Answered: The Next Trade for Vikings, Cam Akers in the House, a Main Problem
Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.
Q: If there’s a second trade after the Cam Akers deal, what do you think it will be?
Answer: Probably another cornerback like Jonathan Jones from the New England Patriots or an extra wide receiver like Adam Thielen of the Carolina Panthers.
Minnesota’s cornerbacks have remained collectively healthy through five games, but one will get hurt sooner or later. The group comprises Stephon Gilmore, Byron Murphy, and Shaquill Griffin — all veterans. It won’t be one bit weird if one gets injured and misses a few games.
So, the Vikings could swing a deal for a player like Jones, who has ties to defensive coordinator Brian Flores from the New England days.
Too, if Adam Thielen is expendable in Carolina — the Panthers are the worst team in the league and could hold a fire sale before the trade deadline — why not bring Thielen home and bolster the WR3 slot?
Q: Did the Vikings trade for Cam Akers because they’re worried about Aaron Jones’ health?
Answer: No.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell O’Connell batted away any Akers-for-Jones replacement theories on Wednesday. “Has no bearing on our current running back situation,” the young head coach said about the Akers trade regarding Jones’ health.
“Cam has looked really good, whether it was the early reps in preseason with the Texans or scoring against us when we played. Cam’s been somebody that we didn’t necessarily want to let go to somebody else last offseason, but good football players, that tends to happen. Want to credit Kwesi and his guys for getting a deal done to get Cam back here, really as a depth move,” he added.
Akers is merely RB depth for a team with an “old” tailback at the top of the ticket. They love Akers. It’s that simple.
Jones might even play this weekend.
Q: What’s the top problem Minnesota needs to fix after the bye week?
Answer: The turnovers on offense and special teams.
Minnesota ranks 29th in giveaways, meaning it’s turning the ball over the fourth-most in the league. If the club doesn’t fix that stat, it won’t go very far in the postseason.
Thankfully for their sake, the Vikings rank second in takeaways, which offsets the giveaways. If the takeaways run out, however, Minnesota will begin losing games. There’s no other way around it.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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