Don’t Rule Out Vikings’ Trade Interest in Cam Akers

UPDATE (5:30 PM CT – Sept. 20, 2023): The Minnesota Vikings are swapping draft picks with the Los Angeles Rams, in exchange for running back Cam Akers.

After officially signing Dalton Risner on Tuesday, to address the atrocious offensive line play through two games this season, it’s clear the Minnesota Vikings will stop at nothing, to get back in the NFC playoff picture, following a disappointing 0-2 start to the 2023 season.

What’s next, you ask? Well, the Vikings’ rushing attack has been one of the worst in the league, so far, and they were openly interested in adding another RB1 type, to pair with Alexander Mattison, not that long ago.

Could Vikings be interested in trading for Cam Akers?

That leads us to Cam Akers, who the Los Angeles Rams are reportedly shopping on the trade market, after not dressing him on Sunday. Would the Rams make a deal with the Vikings, involving Akers? If Minnesota is interested, you’d think the conversation would be pretty easy, given Kevin O’Connell was an assistant coach for Sean McVay this time just two years ago.

Darren “Doogie” Wolfson (SKOR North, KSTP) wondered the same thing and reached out to some contacts in the Vikings front office. Nobody responded, which immediately got Wolfson’s tentacles up.

“I reached out to a few people that would have their fingerprints on such a move, a Cam Akers trade [and] nobody got back to me, last night. So, the tentacles go up, I start wondering, right, we know Cam Akers inevitably is going somewhere, right, when the Rams make the decision to not dress him on Sunday, in that game against the 49ers. It certainly seems inevitable some move is about to occur.”

Darren Wolfson – Mackey & Judd (SKOR North)

Wolfson, along with ‘Mackey & Judd’ co-host Judd Zulgad and producer Declan Goff, discussed the possibility of signing free agent running back Kareem Hunt, too. But, Hunt hasn’t played yet this season and his locker room presence isn’t known to be a very positive one (not to mention his past), so Doogie doesn’t see the Vikings going there.

Akers, on the other hand, could be the perfect fit. It’s believed he can be had for a conditional day-3 draft pick and head coach Kevin O’Connell should be able to get the book on Akers’ scouting report, given he is tight with Rams head coach, Sean McVay.

Related: Alexander Mattison will be fine in Minnesota Vikings backfield, but it may take some time

Nobody will be surprised if Vikings bring in another RB1 type

Inside TCO Performance Center, the love for Alexander Mattison, the person, is high. But there are questions, according to Wolfson, about whether or not he is capable of successfully carrying an RB1 load for a playoff team. In other words, nobody — even those inside the Mattison camp — would be surprised if the Vikings went after Akers, Hunt or another running back to pair with Alex.

“I’m a big Alexander Madison fan, but I’m with you, more a shared relationship; that he truly isn’t a number one [running back]. Heck, the contract suggests, at $3.5 million, he’s not a true number one. Now, 93% of his contract is guaranteed, over two years, so he’ll see just about $7 million dollars between this year and next year. But that, to me, even if the running back position has been devalued, suggests that the idea always has been some sort of shared role.

I will tell you, before the Miles Gaskin signing, the Mattison Camp was pretty positive something was going to happen. And so, I think, if they did something else — because Gaskin hasn’t made any sort of impact to date — that [the Mattison camp] wouldn’t be surprised if it’s Acres; if it’s [Kareem] Hunt; if it’s somebody else. I don’t think there would be all this, ‘whoa, what the heck is going on?’ That Mattison would, you know, march into [Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s] office saying, ‘what the heck is going on’? Like, I don’t think it would come as a surprise whatsoever.”

Darren Wolfson – Mackey & Judd (SKOR North)

Let’s see how aggressive the front office really wants to be, in improving the massive deficiencies in their current roster. If they really want to make the playoffs, they need to run the ball better.

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Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan