Cam Akers Didn’t Re-sign with the Vikings After All

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NFL: Minnesota Vikings at Carolina Panthers
Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

In a bizarre turn of events, it looks like former Minnesota Vikings’ running back Cam Akers has not signed with the team pending a physical. The Vikings initially traded for Akers last September to bolster their running back room and improve the running game. Something that head coach Kevin O’Connell preached heavily last offseason.

Although the Minnesota Vikings spent draft capital on him last season, he suffered another torn Achilles in early November ending his season once again. Before his season ending injury, Akers was starting to round into form as one of the primary running backs for the Vikings. He finished with:

  • 38 carries
  • 138 rushing yards
  • 1 rushing touchdown
  • 11 receptions
  • 70 receiving yards
  • Overall Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade: 69.7
  • Rushing PFF grade: 66.0
  • Receiving PFF grade: 76.4

Didn’t Cam Akers re-sign with the Minnesota Vikings pending a physical?

Back in late June, Charley Walters (Pioneer Press) was the first person to mention that the Minnesota Vikings were going to bring back Akers if he passed an upcoming physical. A little over a week after Walter’s nugget, the Vikings’ transaction wire over on ESPN showed that the Minnesota Vikings did indeed re-sign Akers pending passing his physical. It seems like everything was nearly official at that point, however, that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.

Former Minnesota Vikings’ Cam Akers works out of the Houston Texans?

According to Aaron Wilson (NBC KPRC 2), Akers has not re-signed with the Minnesota Vikings, but in fact, recently worked out for the Houston Texans. Wilson also noted how the Texans are in the market for another running back despite having Joe Mixon, Dameon Pierce, and a couple other decent depth options.

The Texans worked out veteran running back Cam Akers on Sunday, according to a league source… The Texans have been evaluating free agent running backs, working out Deon Jackson and Miyan Williams earlier this week.

Aaron Wilson (NBC KPRC 2)

Why isn’t Cam Akers back with the Minnesota Vikings?

Everything seems a bit murky now on Akers and there’s no clear answers at this time. There could be a potential situation where either the Minnesota Vikings or Akers ended up backing out of the re-signing. What for? We don’t know that yet.

Related: Vikings’ Star Tight End Has Some Big Praise for Rookie QB

Another potential hypothesis was that maybe Akers did not pass his physical. This seems like the most likely conclusion given that he did tear his Achilles about eight months ago. Fans should get more visibility into this matter this upcoming week, with O’Connell scheduled to talk with the media Monday, July 22nd. One thing is for certain though, Akers is not a Viking. At least not officially yet.

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