Minnesota Vikings helmet at Vikings training camp on July 27th, 2024, at TCO Performance Center in Eagan, Minnesota. The Vikings are forecasted for about six or seven wins in 2024, according to oddsmakers heading into the season.
The NFL trade deadline is just three weeks away as of Tuesday.
Ahead of that deadline, the Minnesota Vikings decided to swing a trade to shore up their running back group, acquiring Cam Akers from the Houston Texans.
It was a familiar acquisition for the Vikings as Akers spent a portion of the 2023 season in Minnesota before suffering a season-ending Achilles tear. Now, Akers re-joining the Vikings may be cause for concern regarding a different injured Vikings RB.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network confirmed the trade on Tuesday evening, tweeting, ““Trade! The #Texans are sending RB Cam Akers to the #Vikings, sources say. Houston gets a 2026 conditional sixth-round pick in exchange for Akers and a 2026 conditional seventh-round pick. It’s a reunion for Akers and Minnesota, which also traded for him last season.”
Akers played six games with the Vikings last season totaling 38 carries for 138 yards and a touchdown. He also caught 11 passes, adding 70 yards through the air before his season ended in injury.
The veteran joined the Vikings to help buoy a rushing attack that simply was going nowhere with Alexander Mattison as the lead back. This year, Minnesota’s rushing attack has been much more serviceable behind the efforts of Aaron Jones, but Jones suffered a hip injury in Week 5 against the New York Jets.
With that injury put into consideration, Minnesota may have brought Akers in to keep their rushing offense afloat once again.
Of course, Jones was forced to miss the remainder of that Week 5 matchup with the Jets. In his stead, Ty Chandler totaled 14 carries for 30 yards, an abysmal pace of 2.1 yards per carry.
We do need to keep in mind that the Vikings were going up one of the more stout run defenses in the NFL as the Jets have allowed just 4.3 yards per carry over their first six games, ranking 10th in the league.
The Vikings have not placed Jones on injured reserve, and the latest injury update regarding the star may even be viewed in a positive manner.
However, if Jones were to be sidelined for a couple weeks, Chandler has shown little reason to this point in the season to trust him as the main RB in the offense.
The best way to counteract any fears regarding Chandler’s production and Jones’ health is to go get another capable RB. The Vikings did exactly that by trading for Akers.
Only time will tell if Akers truly is needed in Minnesota’s offense, but at the very least, an insurance policy is now in place.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference.