The Minnesota Vikings got some unfortunate news on Tuesday when starting tailback, Aaron Jones was put onto short-term injured reserve, ruling him out for, at a minimum, the next four weeks.
Although former San Francisco 49ers running back, Jordan Mason has become the de facto main running back over the first two games of the season, carrying the ball 25 times to Jones’ 15 even before the injury to the former Packer, this new development puts a significant amount of strain on Mason to hold up Minnesota’s rushing attack, essentially on his own.
Indeed, so far this year, no other Viking back has had even had a carry.
In order to counterbalance and bring more depth to the room, the organization has bought in a familiar face. So familiar, in fact, that this will now be his third stint with the franchise, albeit this time on the practice squad – per Adam Schefter.
Vikings Sign Running Back, Cam Akers, For The Third Time
Akers first spent time with the Vikings back in 2023, when he was traded from the Rams after having his starting spot usurped then-second year pro, Kyren Williams, who signed a three year, $33 million extension with the team this past summer
The former Super Bowl champion then signed with the Houston Texans the following offseason, before getting subseqeuntly traded back to Minnesota for a second time.
This past offseason, head coach, Kevin O’Connell, decided upon acquiring Mason and keeping Ty Chandler as the primary backups for Jones, leaving room for Akers to sign with the New Orleans Saints in June.
However, he was not able to make his way onto NOLA’s final roster, getting cut in by the team in late August.
How Will The Addition Of Akers Affect The Vikings’ RB Room?
Mason is now officially Minnesota’s RB1, although it has been clear that he has unofficially been RB1A to Jones 1B since the start of the 2025 season.
Akers has shown himself to be a reasonably strong auxiliary back, but one would imagine this will result in Mason being the official lead back and semi bell-cow for the Vikings, rather than splitting touches, 60-40, like he did with Jones.
The former Ram had his best statistical year during 2022 season, when he managed 786 yards and 9 touchdowns, after breaking out as a rookie in 2020.
Despite a good but limited 2022, it seems like his career never managed to get back on track after an Achilles tear sidelined him for almost the entirety of the 2021 regular season, before returning for the playoffs, in which he ran the ball 67 times but averaged just 2.6 yard/carry.
Akers is far from guaranteed the RB2 spot behind Mason, with former Colt, Zavier Scott, also waiting in the wings for his shot at getting more playing time. And especially considering that he is still on the practice squad, and not the 53-man roster.
But given both his extensive experience in the league and numerous prior positive experiences with the organization, it feels like the ex Florida State standout could see some action as early as this Sunday in week three, if the team designate him as a game-day promotion to the active roster.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Vikings To-Re Sign Former Super Bowl Champion For 3rd Stint – Report appeared first on Heavy Sports.