Vikings Audition New RB
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For about three weeks, Minnesota Vikings fans believed Cam Akers lived on the team’s summer roster, mainly because ESPN reported the transaction on July 2nd.
Vikings Audition New RB
But Akers signed with the Houston Texans this week, perhaps emphasizing Minnesota’s need for running back depth, especially for preseason workload. The Vikings rarely play starters in such exhibition games.
So, Minnesota reportedly auditioned journeyman RB Trenton Cannon.
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KPRC2 Houston’s Aaron Wilson tweeted Wednesday, “Vikings worked out veteran running back and special teams standout Trenton Cannon today, per a league source KPRC2 fully recovered from Achilles injury. Has interest from multiple teams.”
If the Vikings eventually turn the tryout into a contract, Cannon would join this RB room in Minnesota:
- Aaron Jones
- Ty Chandler
- Kene Nwangwu
- DeWayne McBride
- Myles Gaskin
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If a deal is finalized, the Vikings would represent six teams for Cannon in six years. To date, this is his career resume:
- New York Jets (2018–2019)
- Carolina Panthers (2020)
- Baltimore Ravens (2021)
- San Francisco 49ers (2021)
- Tennessee Titans (2022)
All told, Cannon has tallied just 150 rushing yards on 51 carries, also known as a measly 2.9 yards per carry average. He scored one touchdown with the New York Jets as a rookie in 2018 and has caught 20 passes for 160 receiving yards in 48 career games.
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Cannon is best known for returning kicks — 34 in his career for 775 yards — with various teams: perhaps the true interest of the Vikings’ tryout after the NFL fundamentally changed kickoff rules this offseason.
The 30-year-old began college at Shepherd State before transferring to Virginia State and tabulated over 4,000 rushing yards as a Trojan. The Jets used the 6th Round of the 2018 NFL Draft to unearth Cannon — the same day Minnesota selected kicker Daniel Carlson.
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During the build-up to that draft, Cannon notched a 4.40 forty-time and was touted for his versatility — pass-catching, special teams, and running the rock.
If Minnesota doesn’t sign Cannon, other free agents like Kareem Hunt, Darrell Henderson, and Matt Breida remain available on the open market.
The Vikings kicked off training camp this week, and RB1 Aaron Jones has already stood off the page as RB1, Minnesota’s keynote RB addition of the offseason.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has about $21 million in cap space as of July 25th.
![Vikings Face Triple Whammy of Bad News](https://vikingsterritory.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=428,height=241,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/USATSI_22171790-1.jpg)
Vikings Face Triple Whammy of Bad News
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 Vikings 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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