Former Minnesota Vikings running back Cam Akers will try out for the New Orleans Saints at their minicamp, according to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football. Akers has spent the last two seasons with the Houston Texans and the Vikings and will be trying out with the Saints as an unsigned free agent.
Why Cam Akers is fighting for his NFL life
Akers has seen his ups and downs during his five seasons in the NFL. Akers was selected by the LA Rams with the 52nd overall pick in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Last season, Akers played five games with the Texans before getting traded to the Vikings, rushing for 444 yards on the year. Akers has rushed for 2,025 yards in his career on 502 carries with 13 touchdowns. He has also recorded 52 catches for 388 yards and four touchdowns in five NFL seasons.
The last two seasons with the Texans and the Vikings, Akers has battled through injuries which have put his NFL career in jeopardy. In his first stint with the Vikings in 2023, Akers suffered an injury to his left Achilles tendon. He had previously torn his right Achilles tendon in 2021 with the LA Rams.
The injury that he suffered had a major impact in his production of a running back in the 2024 season with the Texans and the Vikings. Will the Saints take a chance on a running back who has a brutal injury history?
If the Saints were to sign Akers after his minicamp tryout, he would be joining a running back room that features Alvin Kamara, Kendre Miller, Devin Neal, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Now, let's make the case why the Saints should and shouldn't sign Cam Akers.
Pros and cons to Saints signing Cam Akers
Despite recent struggles in his career and a crowded running back room in New Orleans, the Saints should sign Akers to a contract. The Saints are projected to be towards the bottom of the NFL next season, as recent 2026 NFL Mock Drafts have New Orleans selecting No. 1 overall. Akers would fit right in as a possible third option behind Alvin Kamara and Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
With that, Akers could see some considerable playing time, compared to other potential teams.
Akers' one big issue, though, in getting signed is the young running backs that the Saints currently have. Rookie running back Devin Neal is currently fighting to be the second option behind Alvin Kamara at running back. Neal was a star in college with the Kansas Jayhawks. During his four seasons with Kansas, Neal rushed for over 1,000 yards in three of them.
Kendre Miller is another running back who could prevent Akers from cracking a roster spot. The second-year running back out of TCU has rushed for 80 yards in his two-year career and has seen significant improvement in the offseason.
The question remains if Akers' performance at training camp will impress the Saints enough to give him a roster spot for next season. That's a lot of names battling for, realistically a couple of spots on the 53-man roster.