Will the Vikings Bring Back Restricted Free Agent RB Cam Akers in 2024?
Last September, the Vikings acquired running back Cam Akers from the Rams for...well, nothing. The deal was Akers and a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick to Minnesota for a conditional 2026 sixth-rounder. That pick swap would've counted if Akers had exceeded 500 yards from scrimmage in 2023, but he tore his Achilles in Week 9 after recording 208 yards and a touchdown in six games with the Vikings.
Akers, who is currently in the process of recovering from the second Achilles tear of his career, is a restricted free agent this offseason (RFAs are players with three accrued seasons and an expired contract). The Vikings will have the option to place an original-round tender on him for a bit less than $3 million. Akers was drafted in the second round back in 2020, so no other team would realistically give him an offer sheet in that scenario. If the Vikings don't place a tender on him, he'll become an unrestricted free agent.
Akers seems to think he'll be back in Minnesota in 2024, judging by a recent Instagram comment of his.
The Vikings do have both Alexander Mattison and Ty Chandler under contract next year, but re-signing Akers to round out that room could make sense. His numbers with the Vikings were pretty pedestrian (3.6 yards per carry, 6.4 yards per catch) in a small sample, but he's a solid pass blocker who had a strong 2022 season with the Rams (903 yards from scrimmage, 4.2 YPC, 7 touchdowns). He also had a handful of impressive moments during his brief time with Minnesota.
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