Minnesota Vikings running back Cam Akers tore his left Achilles tendon, likely ending his season, head coach Kevin O’Connell told the media Sunday.
Akers, who tore his right Achilles in 2021, seemed to confirm the injury on Twitter, posting “I’ll be back” with a tear-filled emoji.
The Vikings acquired Akers in September from the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for a conditional sixth round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
🥹 I’ll be back https://t.co/drrEuVHWg8
— Cam akers (@thereal_cam3) November 6, 2023
Akers, a running back, was actually serving as the Vikings emergency quarterback Sunday after rookie signal caller Jaren Hall went down with a concussion, leaving newly acquired quarterback Josh Dobbs as the only healthy QB on the roster. (RELATED: ‘Every F***in Door We Go Through, We Kicking That B**ch In’: Antonio Pierce’s Speech Has Me Ready To Run Through A Brick Wall)
The Vikings traded for Dobbs after their star franchise quarterback Kirk Cousins also went down with a torn Achilles in late October.
The ruptured Achilles appears to be supplanting the torn ACL as the NFL player’s most feared injury.
Star New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers notably went down with the injury in week one. Baltimore Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins, who also ruptured the tendon, joined Rodgers in his rehab process. The Houston Texans lost veteran defensive lineman Hassan Ridgeway to the injury this week as well.
While Cousins’ injury took place on the grass of Green Bay’s Lambeau Field, the majority of the other Achilles injuries took place on turf. The rash of ruptures have led to an open debate: is turf the problem? The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) has called on the NFL to implement natural grass in all 30 team’s stadiums following Rodgers’ week one injury.
“We feel the data has proven our point,” NFLPA President JC Tretter told ESPN. “We feel the player opinion is consistent. There are, really, only two bodies of people that are disagreeing at this point with us: People who manufacture turf and the NFL. And that’s a frustrating spot to be in.”