The spirit of thankfulness runs rampant in Cam Akers – and his parents.
Alec Lewis of The Athletic this week spotlighted the Vikings running back's arduous journey and blessed opportunity to continue playing the game he loves after tearing both his Achilles tendons in a span of three years.
Lewis wrote the following:
The statistics say Akers should not be here – not in an NFL end zone, not even on an NFL field. He has overcome an injury that tends to be a death knell for running backs … and he's done it twice.
Lewis uses insights from Akers' mother, Angela Neal, and his father, Conni, to explain how the player's recovery arc is "as much about himself as it is about others." They both cherished their son's smile after he found the end zone in Week 11 at Tennessee, a little more than a year after his second Achilles injury.
"Hell, we were smiling, too," Conni told Lewis.
"That smile we saw from him?" Angela said. "That was a smile of relief. A smile of, 'I'm home.' "
Lewis weaves through multiple timelines to tell Akers' story, including the initial injury he suffered while doing a box jump workout ahead of his second season with the Rams; his devastating déjà vu in the Nov. 5 game last year at Atlanta, which robbed him of finishing his first Vikings stint on his own terms, and the feats he achieved in his youth on his way to Florida State University – when people realized his potential.
Not just as a player, but as a person.
Local coaches and sportswriters compared his vision, elusiveness and strength to the legendary Marcus Dupree. Once, as part of a recruiting pitch, half of the Ole Miss football team showed up to one of his games. Another time, Akers was swarmed by autograph seekers to the point that Clinton (High School) resorted to hiring a security guard to usher him to and from the bus.
"They talked about him and Mrs. Angie," then-Florida State running backs coach Jay Graham recalled his first visit with Clinton staff. "Usually, with a young man, you don't get people's eyes and faces to glow. (But this case) wasn't about the football player. It was about the young man."
Now, Akers, 25, is doing well in a setting that's familiar, and special.
Angela said to Lewis:
"Every team has their guys that you know: These are the guys. In most places, those guys are treated a certain way. You don't have to be one of those guys to be treated like one of those guys in Minnesota."
Check out Lewis' feature here.
Top draft steals
Minnesota has looked incredibly sharp so far on the kicking front.
That's a testament to the club's college and pro scouts, who identified a couple of guys with ice in their veins. One, rookie Will Reichard, was picked 203rd overall in the 2024 NFL Draft and another, Parker Romo, was signed as a free agent this past spring after connecting on 17 field goals in the XFL in 2023.
Romo was released at the beginning of training camp, but he was brought back after Reichard suffered a quadriceps injury on Sunday Night Football against the Colts.
They've both excelled under Special Teams Coordinator Matt Daniels.
Romo made his NFL debut Nov. 10 at Jacksonville and nailed all four of his field goal attempts to score every one of Minnesota's points in its 12-7 win. He drilled a 40-yarder the following week and made three more field goals, including his first career game-winning kick in overtime in Week 12 at the Bears.
As Romo keeps shining, we shouldn't forget Reichard's near-perfect start.
Dubbed a "stone-cold killer" by Daniels, Reichard aced 14 field goals in a row before missing two in the game that landed him on Injured Reserve. In total, he had 34 consecutive "makes" with 20 extra points.
Reichard was penned by 33rd Team contributor Jeff Diamond this week as the 14th biggest draft steal of the year. Diamond, by the way, used to work for the Vikings from 1976-98, including as general manager.
The Vikings sixth-round selection is the lone special teams player on Diamond's list, and deserving of the recognition after showing off great precision and range in seven healthy games. Reichard made four kicks from 50-plus yards (a long of 58) and produced a touchback rate of 88.9%, which ranks fourth in the NFL.
Diamond lauded Reichard's accurate entrance: "Reichard was a draft steal and should be a top NFL kicker for many years to come, which is fitting for the all-time FBS scoring leader while he kicked at Alabama."
Also on Diamond's list of draft seals are Denver QB Bo Nix at No. 1, Washington CB Mike Sainristil at No. 4, Green Bay S Evan Williams at No. 8 and Giants RB Tyrone Tracy, Jr., at No. 12. Read the full article here.
