Cam Akers injures Achilles, could be done for season

A bit of a damper on a big win

Lost in the excitement of the Minnesota Vikings’ 31-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon was the news that the purple may have lost another player for the season with an Achilles injury.

After the game, Vikings’ coach Kevin O’Connell confirmed that running back Cam Akers suffered an Achilles injury in the fourth quarter. Though the severity of the injury is not known yet, Akers needed to be carted back to the locker room and the fear is that he could be done for the season.

Akers was acquired by the Vikings in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams in September, with the Vikings acquiring Akers and a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft in exchange for a conditional 2026 sixth-round pick. The conditions were centered around Akers gaining at least 500 yards from scrimmage this season.

This would not be the first time this has happened to Akers. He missed the entire 2021 season after tearing his right Achilles during Training Camp. This injury is to the other Achilles, according to reports.

If Akers is done for the season, it’s going to leave the Vikings fairly thin at running back. Alexander Mattison is still entrenched as the starter, but Ty Chandler will now move into the backup role. Kene Nwangwu has been limited by injuries for most of the season and hasn’t gotten a lot of snaps at running back in his career anyway, and the team still has 2023 seventh-round pick DeWayne McBride on the practice squad.

Here’s hoping that maybe the injury isn’t as bad as everyone is fearing, but it sure does sound like the Achilles monster has claimed another member of the Vikings for the remainder of this season.