Cam Akers out with ankle injury

Vikings RB Cam Akers suffered an ankle injury in the second half of Sunday's game vs. the Falcons and will not return. That leaves the backfield to Alexander Mattison and Ty Chandler. We'll update Akers' status when we know more.

The Vikings fear a torn Achilles for RB Cam Akers, HC Kevin O'Connell said after Sunday's win over the Falcons. This would be Akers' left Achilles. He tore his right Achilles in July 2021, eventually making it back in January 2022. This latest injury would end Akers' 2023 campaign, leaving Minnesota's backfield to Alexander Mattison and Ty Chandler. We should get confirmation on the injury on Monday.

Update: The Monday MRi confirmed the injury. Unfortunately, this makes Akers droppable across fantasy formats, including dynasty.

Perhaps there’s been a changing of the guard in Minnesota. For the first time since joining the team via trade in late September, Vikings RB Cam Akers saw more volume than his teammate Alexander Mattison in Week 7 vs. the 49ers. Akers led the way with 13 total touches on Monday night to Mattison’s 11. Though neither player achieved double-digit PPR points, this is a potentially significant development worth keeping an eye on ahead of Week 8 vs. the Packers.

RB Cam Akers carried five times for 40 yards in Sunday's win over the Panthers, his first action with the Vikings. He added 2 receptions for 11 yards on 2 targets, one of just three Minnesota players who caught more than one pass in the game. Akers looks like the handcuff to RB Alexander Mattison but probably won't turn into a standalone fantasy play without a Mattison injury. Mattison rushed 17 times for 95 yards against Carolina and caught his only target for 3 yards.

Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell said RB Cam Akers "more than likely" won't play vs. the Chargers on Sunday. O'Connell does expect Akers to be ready for Week 4. But RB Alexander Mattison will get at least one more game as Minnesota's feature back.

On Wednesday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Rams are trading RB Cam Akers to the Vikings in exchange for a swap of 2026 NFL Draft picks. Akers was a surprise inactive on Sunday vs. the 49ers, and HC Sean McVay reiterated to the media on Monday that the team was trying to deal away the former second-round pick. This news brings the "will they, won't they" saga dating back to the 2022 season to a close and also muddies the outlook for incumbent Vikings RB Alexander Mattison. Fantasy managers who roster Mattison will now have to worry about Akers, who has connections to HC Kevin O'Connell and OC Wes Phillips dating back to their days in Los Angeles, coming in and taking away some work. This could be merely a depth move, though Mattison has not been particularly effective this season, averaging just 31.0 rushing yards per game. Stay tuned for more updates regarding the fantasy fallout of this trade.