Tag: DeWayne McBride

Report: Vikings expected to sign free agent RB Cam Akers pending physical

According to a report from Pioneer Press writer Charley Walters, the Minnesota Vikings intend to sign RB Cam Akers, pending a physical.

A familiar face could soon be joining — or rather, re-joining — the Minnesota Vikings backfield. According to a report from Pioneer Press writer Charley Walters, the Vikings are poised to bring back running back Cam Akers, provided he passes a physical.

Akers remained with the team for the 2023 season after a late-September trade with the Los Angeles Rams brought him to Minneapolis. Like most Vikings running backs in 2023, Akers struggled to gain yards.

In six games with the team, Akers ran the ball 38 times for just 138 yards and one touchdown before being lost for the season with a torn Achilles — just one week after starting quarterback Kirk Cousins suffered the same injury.

Adding Akers to the Vikings backfield could spell the end for at least one running back on the roster. Free agent acquisition Aaron Jones will be safe and, presumably, the team’s starting running back. Ty Chandler should also be secure as a change-of-pace back to spell Jones.

Beyond that, though, the situation at the position gets interesting. Currently, the Vikings have Kene Nwangwu, DeWayne McBride, and Myles Gaskin on the roster. Nwangwu’s roster spot is likely also safe due mainly to the special team’s contributions he brings to the team.

It’s hard to imagine the Vikings going into the season with six running backs on the roster, which likely spells the end of the road for either McBride or Gaskin — or perhaps both. One of them could wind up on the practice squad, but it’s unlikely both do.

McBride was drafted by the Vikings in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft and spent all of last season on the team’s practice squad. Gaskin was originally a seventh-round selection by the Miami Dolphins in the 2019 NFL Draft and spent his first four seasons in Miami — including one year as a starter — before joining the Vikings for a portion of last season.

Grading the Minnesota Vikings’ 2023 rookie draft class

With their rookie seasons under their belt, let’s revisit the Minnesota Vikings’ 2023 NFL draft and hand out some rookie grades.

The 2023 season for the Minnesota Vikings was the ultimate rollercoaster ride. Not even just week-to-week, but seemingly quarter-by-quarter and even series-to-series. You never knew what you were going to get from this iteration of the Vikings on any given day, and it made for some wild moments.

The season may not have ended the way the team, or the fans, wanted, but that disappointment shouldn’t overshadow the many good things that happened this year, least of all the many great contributions from the team’s rookie class.

There are a number of different ways to build a successful franchise in the NFL, but still the prevailing thought process is that it’s best to utilize the draft to build your base, and to supplement that base through free agency, trades, and the like.

Over the past few years, the Vikings have used the draft well to build up their base, including nabbing arguably the best wide receiver in football just a few short years ago when taking Justin Jefferson.

That success in the NFL draft continued in 2023, with the Vikings getting some major contributions from a number of their selections. Perhaps even more impressive, arguably their best rookie this season came in the form of someone who wasn’t drafted at all – instead being a true diamond-in-the-rough as an undrafted free agent.

With that as our backdrop, let’s revisit the 2023 Minnesota Vikings NFL draft class and hand out some grades now that their first season is officially behind them.

10 players sign future contracts with Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings signed 10 player from the practice squad to futures contracts, keeping them with the franchise during the offseason.

The Minnesota Vikings began shaping their 2024 roster on Monday afternoon by signing 10 players to futures contracts.

A futures contract is one that a player signs when they aren’t signed to a team’s active roster when the season is over. It is for the league minimum depending on how many service years the player has. The players don’t impact the salary cap until the new league year starts on March 13th.

Each year, teams usually sign in the ballpark of 10 players to futures contracts. They are usually players that have been on their practice squads throughout the year but every so often, teams will sign a player from another practice squad.

The Vikings signed 10 players to futures contracts on Monday afternoon with all of them having been on the practice squad.

Vikings fear torn Achilles for RB Cam Akers

Another brutal blow to the Vikings offense

During his press conference after the Minnesota Vikings’ 31-28 win over the Atlanta Falcons, the team fears that running back Cam Akers has an Achilles tendon injury.

This is not just a brutal blow to the Vikings’ running back room and offense as a whole, but it’s bad for Akers as well. During his time with the Los Angeles Rams, Akers tore his Achilles tendon in August of 2021 and was able to return for the Rams’ Super Bowl run.

Where does this leave the Vikings offense? Without Akers, Alexander Mattison will be the unquestioned top running back and Ty Chandler will likely see his role increase.

Having an open running back spot on the roster could mean that DeWayne McBride gets promoted from the practice squad. It also could mean the Vikings might sign a free agent.

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WATCH DeWayne McBride score opening drive touchdown

McBride makes it look easy with the opening drive touchdown

The Minnesota Vikings got the ball first against the Arizona Cardinals and took advantage with a one-yard touchdown run from DeWayne McBride.

The Vikings drove down 75 yards across 10 plays with both contributions on the ground and through the air. Quarterback Jaren Hall looked settled in during his third NFL game and it showed on that drive.

It showed with McBride as well. He looked more patient with the football in his hands and didn’t stress when defenders got in his face. This is the McBride that we expected to see from the get-go.

The Vikings went up 7-0 with that run and are up 14-0 after just seven minutes.

5 running backs to watch as cutdowns approach to fill RB3 void

Could the Browns find their RB3 on the waiver wire?

Nobody wants the job of the third running back on the roster for the Cleveland Browns. They have given Demetric Felton every opportunity to win the job, and he has not seized the opportunity to this point. His aiming points are consistently wide of where they should be, he is a massive liability in pass protection, and there is no real need for a scatback on the roster.

However, in just six days, every NFL team will have to cut 37 players from their roster. Could a running back on another roster fit what the Browns need in a third running back? Here are five names to keep an eye on.

Vikings vs. Titans: 4 players to watch during Saturday’s game

Keep an eye on these players during Saturday night’s preseason game

After two competitive days of joint practices at TCO Performance Center, the Minnesota Vikings will host the Tennessee Titans on Saturday night at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Throughout joint practices, the starters were active and went to war with the other team. Because of that, we won’t see the majority of the starters play in the game. That will give the second and third team players extensive run to make an impact and earn either a position on the depth chart or a roster spot.

As we head into Saturday night’s game, here are the four players to keep your eye on.

Vikings rookie class: Grading their training camp performance

The Minnesota Vikings rookie class has been good so far during training camp so we graded their individual performances through 7 practices

We are through seven Minnesota Vikings training camp practices and the rookie class is firmly under the microscope.

General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has been criticized for his drafting and it’s somewhat unfair with his draft picks having only played in 18 games thus far. This draft class only has six players in it, which is going to raise expectations for each player due to their being less players in the class.

How are the rookies currently doing in training camp? Let’s take a look at all six draft picks and the one standout UDFA.

Madden ratings for every Vikings running back

The Minnesota Vikings don’t have a top running back for the first time and the Madden ratings reflect that.

On Monday, the first batch of Madden 24 rankings and the first 99 overall in this year’s game were released.

They are currently releasing two position groups per day and started with wide receivers and safeties. On Tuesday, they released edge rushers and defensive tackles. On Wednesday, they ranked the offensive lineman. Here is how they ranked the running backs.

Vikings 90-man roster player profile: RB DeWayne McBride

The Vikings selected DeWayne McBride in the seventh round. Will he make the 53-man roster?

Welcome to the beginning of our 2023 season preview content!

Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at each player on the roster in-depth with backgrounds and how they currently project forward on the Minnesota Vikings roster.

What is the best-case scenario? What is the worst-case scenario? What should we expect from them during the preseason and beyond? We will break all of that down here.

As a staff, all of us at Vikings Wire ranked the entire 90-man roster 1-90 and will be releasing player profiles in reverse order.