Vikings acquire veteran RB Cam Akers in trade with Texans
Coming into this NFL season, the Minnesota Vikings were thought to be a team that could struggle to get going with the change at the quarterback position. The team let veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins head elsewhere in NFL free agency while drafting JJ McCarthy out of the University of Michigan and signing journeyman Sam Darnold for insurance under center if they chose to start the rookie right out of the gate.
Unfortunately for Minnesota, McCarthy went down with a season-ending knee injury during the NFL preseason, forcing head coach Kevin O’Connell to go with Darnold as his starter, which many anticipated could result in a rough start for the Vikings.
However, the Vikings are now sitting at 5-0 coming out of their bye week and are in the conversation for being arguably the best team in the league. Minnesota is one of only two undefeated teams left in the league, with the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs being the other.
On Tuesday, ahead of Week 7’s matchup against the Detroit Lions, which could be an NFC Championship Game preview, the Vikings decided to bring back a familiar face by trading for veteran running back Cam Akers, according to Kevin Seifert of ESPN.
The Minnesota Vikings have acquired running back Cam Akers for the second time in 12 months, this time from the Houston Texans in an exchange of 2026 conditional draft choices, the team confirmed Tuesday.
The Vikings will send a conditional 2026 sixth-round draft pick to the Texans in exchange for a conditional 2026 seventh-round draft pick as part of the deal.
Akers has gone through some drastic ups and downs during his short NFL career up to this point, dealing with numerous injuries and having played for three teams, including the Los Angeles Rams, Texans and now the Vikings for a second time.
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Despite the obvious risk of bringing back Akers due to his injury history, Minnesota was willing to make the move with O’Connell recently singing his praises via ESPN.
“I love Cam Akers,” O’Connell said last month. “Cam is a unique, special and talented person. To deal with the type of adversity he has in his young career and never once have you ever heard him feel sorry for himself. Incredibly tough player, both mentally and physically. … I have a great relationship with him, and care about him tremendously.”
