Cam Akers gets traded to top NFC contender

Jul 31, 2022; Irvine, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams running back Cam Akers (3) during training camp at UC Irvine. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Cam Akers has completed his 360-degree turn.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported Tuesday that the Houston Texans have traded the running back Akers to the Minnesota Vikings. Akers and a 2026 conditional seventh-round pick are going to Minnesota while a 2026 conditional sixth-round pick goes back to Houston.

The 25-year-old Akers, a former second-round pick by the Los Angeles Rams, looked poised to be a stud for the Rams and was a member of their Super Bowl LVI-winning team. But Akers missed almost all of the 2021 season due to an Achilles rupture and was eventually leapfrogged at running back by Kyren Williams.

Minnesota, the last remaining undefeated team in the NFC at 5-0, already had Akers on their roster last season when they acquired him from the Rams in a trade. But Akers managed only a forgettable handful of games with them before he was placed on season-ending injured reserve (and then signed with the Texans in the off-season).

Akers is back on the Vikings now though and should get a better shot as a potential No. 2 to Aaron Jones than he got on a Texans team that now has Joe Mixon, Dameon Pierce, and Dare Ogunbowale all healthy again. The former Florida State star still clearly has some value and drew trade interest from an AFC team around this time last year too.