Asmall favorite on the road against the LA Rams, the Minnesota Vikings could be in for some positive news.
Whilst star running back Aaron Jones, has dominated the rushing attack for the Vikings this season, accumulating 1,138 yards and 5 touchdowns on 255 attempts, the questions this week have concerned backup and former Ram, Cam Akers.
Akers was questionable earlier this week with illness that seemingly hit multiple players in Minnesota’s RB room, and was not present at portions of practice open to the media, leading to speculation that he may not be available for Monday night’s critical matchup, now scheduled in Arizona after the devastating wildfires in large portions of Southern California.
However, per Vikings reporter for ESPN, Kevin Seifert, Akers’ playing status is known to the team, despite being officially designated as “questionable” on the injury report.
Akers (illness) will be QUESTIONABLE but Kevin OâConnell seems confident he will be available vs Rams. https://t.co/ZpAD8Q1LC9
â Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) January 11, 2025
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Cam Akers Expected To Play On Monday Night
Once expected to be the Rams running back of the future, an ACL tear in 2021 hindered the former 2nd round pick’s process, and an inability to outcompete fellow backs Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers ultimately saw him be traded away to the Vikings for a late round pick exchange in October 2023.
Now back on the Vikings after spending the first five games of the season with Houston, Akers has nearly 300 rushing yards – nothing to write home about, but certainly a healthy total for an RB2 that only played 12 games this year.
And crucially for the playoffs, he provides relief and injury cover for their star man Jones – cover who has experience being the main man before in important playoff runs; ironically back in 2021 when he was the lead back for the Rams during their eventual Super Bowl run.
How Will Cam Akers Feature In The Running Game VS. The LA Rams
Akers had 64 carries in 12 games with the Vikings, averaging out to about 5.3/game, so not a hugely significant amount in the grand scheme of the team’s run game.
However, he has had the opportunity to show we can do with a larger sample size of the course of certain games in 2024, racking up double digit carries on three separate occasions, although he was unable to eclipse the 40 yard mark in any of those games.
Given his recent recovery from sickness, you would normally imagine his touches would be limited beyond his normal amount – yet the 3rd running back on the depth chart, former 5th round draft pick, Ty Chandler, also came down with illness this week, leaving Minnesota with little choice but to utilize Akers, given that he fulfills team expectations and plays on Monday.
If he does not, or only suits up as a pseudo “emergency” or “break glass in case of emergency” RB, the Vikings will have to turn to practice squad member and former 2023 undrafted free agent signing Zavier Scott, who has never played a down of football in a regular or postseason game in the NFL.
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