close
close

Cam Akers grateful for return to Minnesota

Akers signed with the Texans in July and has played five games for them this season, totaling 40 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown. He also recorded four catches for 16 yards and a receiving TD – which he scored for the Texans in Week 3 at US Bank Stadium.

O’Connell noted that Minnesota never stopped keeping an eye on Akers.

“Cam has been someone we didn’t necessarily want to let go to anyone else last season, but good football players, that happens a lot,” O’Connell said. “We thank (General Manager) Kwesi (Adofo-Mensah) and his men for pulling off the deal to get Cam back here.”

The mutual respect between O’Connell and Akers was evident in both of their media sessions.

“(My career has) been a journey, and you don’t really come across people and coaches like KO, who really care about the person,” Akers said. “They also care about the company, but they also care about the person. You know, that’s KO. That’s who he is. You know, he obviously wants to win, he wants the best for the team, but he cares about the person.”

O’Connell called the addition of Akers “depth” to the Vikings running back corps, and assured it has no direct correlation to the health of Aaron Jones Sr., who is considered “week-to-week” with a hamstring injury.

“Aaron will progress all week and hopefully he will have a chance on Sunday,” O’Connell said. “Ty Chandler and Myles Gaskin and Cam will work behind him. I like where Ty is at, and obviously Aaron Jones has had a huge, huge impact for our team. “So to consolidate that depth at the position, with the urgency to lead the football for the rest of the season, we wanted to make sure we could do that now if the opportunity arose.”