Latest On Vikings’ RB Room
Cam Akers‘ time in Los Angeles came to an expected end earlier this week when he was dealt to Minnesota. The move has led to questions about the Vikings’ pecking order at the running back spot, but the team’s depth chart appears set to remain the same at the top. 
Alexander Mattison took over RB1 duties this offseason when the Vikings released Dalvin Cook, but that move has not yielded success on the ground to date. Minnesota has the league’s least productive run game through Week 2, having totaled just 69 rushing yards. Mattison’s inefficiency is among the causes for that figure, but he is safe in his role as starter even with Akers in the fold.
“We haven’t lost confidence in Alex Mattison,” Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said, via ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. “I will say that. Unfortunately we’ve had a couple turnovers in the run game where we obviously need to clean that up. Everyone’s aware of that. But we still feel very strongly in Alex and [backup Ty Chandler] and those guys being able to go in and produce. We know we have to be better in the run game. A lot of that starts with us, and the players fundamentally. All those things we’ve addressed, and… I think it will improve dramatically.”
Phillips and head coach Kevin O’Connell are among the Vikings staffers with ties to Akers dating back to their shared time with the Rams. That level of familiarity should help the latter’s acclimation period with his new team, one which figures to use him in a rotational capacity early on. Expectations will be tempered considering the fact Minnesota only needed to swap future Day 3 picks to acquire Akers, but a strong showing in the coming weeks would help his free agent stock considerably ahead of the offseason.
It would also give the team another option in the run game aside from Mattison, whom Seifert notes does not expect to see his role changed with Akers now in the picture. Improvement on the ground in any capacity would be welcomed for the 0-2 Vikings, but it will be interesting to see how the backfield is managed with a former second-round pick (who started 15 of his 30 Rams contests) in place. For now, at least, Mattison is safe atop the RB depth chart.
Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs Suffers ACL Tear In Practice
Trevon Diggs suffered a knee injury in practice Thursday, and it will deal a considerable blow to their vaunted defense. The All-Pro defender left Dallas’ facility today on crutches and went through an MRI, David Moore of the Dallas Morning News reports. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports the MRI revealed an ACL tear. The Cowboys have since confirmed Diggs is expected to miss the season’s remainder.
Diggs went down during a one-on-one drill, per ESPN’s Todd Archer, and an NFL.com report minutes earlier expressed the fear of a serious injury. The Cowboys gave Diggs a five-year, $97MM extension during training camp. While this development highlights the importance of Diggs locking in that deal when he did, it strips Dan Quinn‘s defense of a quality starter.
Through two games, Diggs had intercepted a pass and notched a forced fumble. He is two years removed from an 11-interception season — the most in a single slate since Everson Walls’ Cowboys rookie year produced 11 in 1981 — and had just begun his age-25 season. Diggs turned 25 on Wednesday.
The Cowboys began to build their cornerback group around Diggs early, drafting him after letting Byron Jones walk in 2020. A second-round pick out of Alabama, Diggs became an immediate starter. He has developed an earned reputation as a gambler; Pro Football Focus has yet to assign him a top-40 grade for a season. Nevertheless, the 6-foot-1 cover man resides as a key starter for a Cowboys team that entered the season carrying Super Bowl aspirations.
Routs of the Giants and Jets gave the Cowboys a staggering plus-60 point differential ahead of Week 3. The team had assembled a stronger cornerback group this year, acquiring Stephon Gilmore via trade. The Cowboys will depend on the 33-year-old corner remaining in form this season, as they no longer will have Diggs teaming with the former Defensive Player of the Year. Gilmore’s Colts-constructed contract expires after this season.
This also continues a trend for the Cowboys, who lost Jourdan Lewis and Anthony Brown to season-ending injuries last year. Brown is now with the 49ers; Lewis remains with the Cowboys. Lewis, 28, suffered a Lisfranc fracture in October 2022. The seventh-year veteran made his season debut in Week 2, playing 10 defensive snaps. In addition to Lewis, the Cowboys have Noah Igbinoghene — acquired in a corner-for-corner trade that sent Kelvin Joseph to the Dolphins — and sixth-round rookie Eric Scott Jr. rostered. DaRon Bland remains as Dallas’ top slot corner. Nahshon Wright is on Dallas’ IR; he can return in Week 5.
Bland moving outside to team with Gilmore, while Lewis steps back into the slot, represents a potential course of action for the team, Archer adds. This plan looks set to be how Dallas will align their corners after this injury, with Moore and NFL.com’s Jane Slater adding Lewis is on track to move back into the starting lineup. Lewis, who will kick Bland outside, played at least 74% of Dallas’ defensive snaps from 2019-21. Lewis remains attached to a three-year, $13.5MM deal agreed to in 2021. This will be new territory for Bland, in the NFL at least; he stepped in for Brown in the slot when the latter suffered an Achilles tear in December of last year.
The Cowboys identified Diggs as an extension candidate going into camp; he joined CeeDee Lamb and Terence Steele as such. Steele followed Diggs by signing a lucrative extension. Lamb’s fifth-year option always made him a more logical 2024 extension target. The Cowboys guaranteed Diggs $33.3MM at signing; an additional $9MM is guaranteed for injury. Diggs’ $19.4MM AAV ranks fifth among corners.
Signing the deal effectively ties Diggs to the Cowboys for two seasons, with 2025 representing an escape hatch. The Cowboys will presumably hope for a longer-term partnership, but Diggs now must go through a several-month rehab process. Considering the opportunity the Cowboys have this season, it would not surprise to see them dig deeper into the trade market to see if an upgrade exists. For now, they are without one of their core performers.
Steelers Won’t Make “Knee-Jerk Reactions” With OC Matt Canada
The Steelers offense has struggled mightily through the first two weeks of the 2023 season, leading fans at Acrisure Stadium to call for offensive coordinator Matt Canada‘s firing during Monday’s eventual win over the Browns. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin acknowledged the offense’s struggles and admitted to hearing the fans’ “Fire Canada” chant, but he told reporters that he doesn’t envision making a change to his staff.
“We aren’t going to have knee-jerk reactions in terms of making wholesale changes to change that outcome, but we do acknowledge two is a pattern,” Tomlin said (via Mark Kaboly of The Athletic). “We’ve had two outings that are not up to snuff in that regard, so it has our attention.”
Through eight quarters, the Steelers offense has found the end zone as many times as the defense (twice). As Kaboly notes, the unit has had 12 three-and-outs on 25 drives, and the offense didn’t have one snap in the red zone during their win over Cleveland.
Naturally, the offense’s lack of success will be a reflection on Canada. Still, as Kaboly points out, it’d be unlike the organization to make a major coaching move during the season; the last time the Steelers made such a move was when Bill Cowher removed Ray Sherman’s play-calling duties during the 1998 campaign. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette echoes that sentiment, writing that it’d take “a lot” for Canada to get fired before the season ends.
You can’t blame the Pittsburgh faithful for being frustrated. Since getting promoted from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator in 2021, Canada hasn’t been able to guide the Steelers to even an above-average operation. The team dropped from 22nd in points score in 2021 to 24th in 2022, and while they jumped from 25th to 19th in total yards, the passing offense took a major step back.
Tomlin has continued to bring back Canada despite the underwhelming results, and the team retained him for 2023 with the idea that he’d offer some continuity to Kenny Pickett and the young offense. The Steelers coach hasn’t changed his tune, but he did admit that his staff has to do a better job of preparing the offense.
“It starts with coaching,” Tomlin said. “We have to coach better. We have to get these guys playing faster with more fluidity and surer. We have to play more coordinated, especially early in games. We have to anticipate the schematics of those we play against a little bit better. Displaying anticipation is a component of preparedness. We have to put them in really good circumstances, we have to recognize those circumstances and perform.”
Saquon Barkley Suffers Ankle Sprain; Giants RB Facing Multi-Week Absence
SEPTEMBER 21: While previous reports indicated the contrary, Barkley confirmed tonight that he did indeed suffer a high ankle sprain, per Thursday Night Football’s Taylor Rooks (h/t Pat Leonard of New York Daily News).
The running back admitted that his injury isn’t as serious as it could have been, and he said that his absence from tonight’s game was more due to pain tolerance. Barkley also pointed out that New York’s next game is in 11 days, so he’ll have some extra time to get right before Week 4. While Barkley wouldn’t guarantee only a one-game absence, it certainly sounds like he’s leaving that door open.
SEPTEMBER 20: Although Brian Daboll stopped short of ruling out Barkley earlier this week, the Giants have done so Wednesday. Barkley will at least miss one 49ers game, but Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com confirms the sixth-year veteran is not battling a high ankle sprain. That stands to shorten his time away.
The Giants will also be without Andrew Thomas for a second straight game, and left guard Ben Bredeson‘s concussion will keep him out of Big Blue’s Thursday-night tilt. Outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari will also be down for the Giants.
SEPTEMBER 18: Saquon Barkley was sidelined for the final offensive play of the Giants’ Week 2 comeback victory, and it was feared after the game he would be dealing with a serious ankle injury. The worst-case scenario has been avoided, but he is nevertheless set to miss time. 
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that an MRI revealed an “ordinary” ankle sprain for the Pro Bowl back. As a result, Barkley is expected to miss roughly three weeks. At a minimum, that will keep him sidelined for the team’s upcoming Thursday night contest against the 49ers.
Barkley played all but one snap in New York’s surprise win against the Cardinals, proving his importance to the team’s offense. Given his heavy workload, replacing him will be a tall order for the Giants as they look to rebound from the struggles suffered in the first six quarters of their season. That task will fall to Matt Breida, Gary Brightwell and Eric Gray.
After initially representing the team’s higher priority with respect to a long-term extension, Barkley saw quarterback Daniel Jones ink a four-year, $160MM pact in March. That allowed the Giants to use the franchise tag on the former No. 2 pick, though extension talks continued through to the deadline for players hit with the one-year tender. No deal materialized, with Barkley turning down offers which increased in AAV at the expense of guarantees.
In the end, a training camp holdout was avoided with the parties agreeing to a small incentive package which allows Barkley’s 2023 compensation to max out at $11MM. Individual statistical performances, along with team success, is required for his earnings to reach the maximum value, though, so any missed time is signficant from a financial outlook.
With Barkley unavailable for the time being, the Giants’ ground game will look much different. He leads the team in rushing yards with 114, putting him slightly ahead of Jones. Breida and Brightwell have combined for 19 yards on four carries, but an increased role for at least one of them will be necessary moving forward. An IR stint for Barkley is unlikely given his recovery timeline, but New York will no doubt proceed with caution with the 26-year-old given his status as an offensive focal point.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/21/23
Today’s practice squad moves:
Houston Texans
- Signed: CB D’Angelo Ross
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: G Dakoda Shepley
- Placed on IR: CB Isaac Taylor-Stuart
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: DB Michael Ojemudia
New England Patriots
- Signed: CB Breon Borders, CB Azizi Hearn
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: RB Kirk Merritt
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: LB Tyreke Smith
- Released: OL Greg Eiland
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DE Jayden Peevy
The Patriots are struggling with injuries in their cornerbacks room, so the organization added two players to the practice squad for reinforcement. Borders has the most experience, with the veteran appearing in 32 games since entering the league in 2017. He only got into a single game for the Bears in 2022, but he did appear in 12 games with the Titans and Cardinals in 2021. Hearn had a stint with the Chargers after going undrafted out of UCLA in this year’s draft.
Patriots To Place CB Marcus Jones On IR
The Patriots will be without a key defensive back for the foreseeable future. Marcus Jones suffered a torn labrum during New England’s loss to Miami on Sunday night, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald reports that the second-year pro has landed on injured reserve.
Jones was one of New England’s lone bright spots in 2022. The rookie third-round pick ended up earning first-team All-Pro honors after leading the NFL in punt return yards. He finished the season with one punt return touchdown, with the score serving as a game-winner during New England’s Week 11 win over the Jets.
Jones wasn’t just a standout on special teams. He got into more than a third of his team’s defensive snaps, finishing with 39 tackles, seven passes defended, and two interceptions (including a pick six). He even added a 48-yard touchdown reception, making him the first NFL player in 45 years to score on offense, defense, and special teams in one season.
Through two games this season, the 24-year-old was serving in much the same role as 2022. He started one of his two appearances, getting into 44 defensive snaps, nine ST snaps, and one offensive snap.
Jonathan Jones missed Week 2 for the Patriots. While the veteran cornerback returned to practice in a limited fashion yesterday, he’ll likely be listed as questionable for this weekend’s matchup against the Jets. Jack Jones is also on IR, meaning New England could be forced to dig into their depth chart on Sunday. Besides first-round rookie Christian Gonzalez, the only healthy CBs on New England’s active roster are Shaun Wade and rookie sixth-round pick Ameer Speed.
The Patriots could turn to veteran Jalen Mills, who has mostly seen time at safety this season. New England will also likely turn to at least one of their practice squad cornerbacks, a grouping that includes Breon Borders, Azizi Hearn, and William Hooper. The Patriots also added cornerbacks Breon Borders and Azizi Hearn to the taxi squad today.
Patriots Sign QB Will Grier To Active Roster
The Patriots QB3 saga has taken another turn. New England is signing quarterback Will Grier to the active roster, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
[RELATED: Patriots Not Adding Matt Corral To Practice Squad]
The Patriots reshuffled their QB depth chart following roster deadline day. Bailey Zappe was cut from the active roster and eventually landed on the practice squad, and the team appeared to fill the QB2 spot with 2022 third-round pick Matt Corral, who was claimed off waivers from the Panthers. Zappe eventually rejoined the active roster, and Corral was later placed on the exempt/left squad list after he no-showed practice, walkthrough, and team meetings.
Corral was eventually released by the team, but subsequent reports indicated that he was going to join New England’s practice squad. That move didn’t end up coming to fruition, leaving Corral’s future with the organization in doubt.
Corral’s status with the Patriots is now even more in doubt following today’s sudden move. Grier was also a former Panthers draft pick, with the West Virginia product being selected in the third round of the 2019 draft. He was winless in his two starts as a rookie and was demoted to QB3 during his sophomore season. He was later waived and claimed by the Cowboys, and he proceeded to spend the next two years serving as one of Dak Prescott‘s backups.
Following the Cowboys’ acquisition of Trey Lance, Grier was cut loose, but not before he accounted for four total touchdowns during Dallas’ preseason finale. Grier later joined the Bengals practice squad before getting snatched by New England today.
It’s notable that the Patriots are suddenly comfortable rostering three QBs in Mac Jones, Zappe, and now Grier. There’s a chance the former Cowboys backup ends up following a similar path as Corral and ultimately lands on New England’s practice squad. In a potential noncoincidence, the Patriots are set to face off against the Cowboys in Week 4.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/21/23
Here are Thursday’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: QB Nathan Peterman
Houston Texans
- Signed to active roster: DE Derek Rivers
Minnesota Vikings
- Placed on IR: WR Jalen Nailor
New Orleans Saints
- Signed to active roster: LB Ty Summers
New York Giants
- Promoted from practice squad: OL Jaylon Thomas, OLB Oshane Ximines
San Francisco 49ers
- Released: CB Anthony Brown
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Chris Conley, CB Shemar Jean-Charles
The Bears released Peterman on Wednesday, but Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times notes the team was planning to use the roster spot to poach a player off a another team’s practice squad. Chicago’s effort did not produce a signing, however, leaving Peterman’s spot vacant. When a team makes an effort to sign a player off another club’s P-squad, the team can promote the player to its 53-man roster to keep him from being poached. The seventh-year QB, who is in his second season with the Bears, again give the team three active-roster QBs — along with Justin Fields and rookie Tyson Bagent.
QB Notes: Dak, Ravens, Lance, Dobbs, Lions
Although a report earlier this month indicated the Cowboys and Dak Prescott had not begun contract negotiations, The Athletic’s Jeff Howe notes conversations occurred “throughout the offseason.” The Cowboys restructured Prescott’s deal in March, creating 2023 cap space but setting up a showdown of sorts in 2024. Because of the redo, Prescott carries what would be a record-shattering $59.5MM cap hit for 2024, the final year of his contract. Prescott, 30, will almost definitely not play on that number; no one has ever played on a cap number north of $45MM.
Because the Cowboys tagged Dak in 2020 and procedurally tagged him in 2021, part of the long-running negotiations that finally produced a deal in March 2021, they do not have a 2025 tag at their disposal. The Cowboys want to gain contract clarity with Prescott, Howe notes (subscription required), with CeeDee Lamb extension-eligible and Micah Parsons eligible in January. But the eighth-year QB will hold tremendous leverage, particularly if he can complete a bounce-back season, once the sides get serious about an extension.
Here is more on the QB front:
- The Cardinals have used Josh Dobbs as their starting quarterback through two games, doing so despite the veteran reserve not being acquired until late August. Although Dobbs had a history with ex-Browns QBs coach-turned-Cardinals OC Drew Petzing, the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Mary Kay Cabot notes the Cards surprised the Browns with an “out of the blue” trade proposal for their then-backup. Cleveland, which had brought back Dobbs in March, decided the offer — a 2024 fifth-rounder for Dobbs and a 2024 seventh — was good enough to bump up rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson into the QB2 role behind Deshaun Watson.
- Dobbs was not the only QB who relocated via trade in August, as the 49ers-Cowboys Trey Lance swap outflanked the above-referenced move for headlines. The Ravens were mentioned as a Lance suitor, but Eric DeCosta said the team was not interested. “If somebody calls you and asks if you’re interested in a player and you say ‘No’ does that mean you’re interested in that player?” DeCosta said, via Ravens staff writer Kyle Phoenix Barber. The Ravens did pursue Baker Mayfield in March, when Lamar Jackson was on the franchise tag, but Tyler Huntley remains Jackson’s backup.
- Baltimore also rosters Josh Johnson…again. The journeyman (the term sells Johnson’s travels short) ventured to San Francisco last year following Jimmy Garoppolo‘s injury, being poached off Denver’s practice squad to become Brock Purdy‘s backup. Shortly after landing in the Bay Area, Johnson said (via ESPN.com’s Jenna Laine) the Ravens attempted to sign him. This sequence transpired in December, when Jackson’s knee injury left Huntley and Anthony Brown as the Ravens’ QBs. Johnson, 37, is on stint No. 3 with the Ravens presently; he was with the team in 2016 and 2021.
- On the subject of the 2022 49ers, the team’s Lance hedge — via the Garoppolo contract reworking just before last season — came about because Garoppolo was still viewed as the better quarterback. The 49ers aimed for Lance — the unquestioned starter going into Week 1 — to pass the veteran after a season’s worth of growth, SI.com’s Albert Breer notes. Lance suffered a fractured ankle in Week 2, requiring two surgeries, and is back on the developmental track in Dallas. The Cowboys have the former No. 3 overall pick stationed as their third-stringer.
- In 2021, the Lions were beginning another rebuild — one that soon involved a trade of Matthew Stafford. The 12-year Lions QB had requested a trade before the team made its GM hire, and The Athletic’s Colton Pouncey writes Detroit brass did not inform candidates of the request. The Lions had shot down Stafford trade talk in 2020, but after the veteran passer requested a move as the team reloaded around Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell in January 2021, the thinking changed. Holmes was unfazed by Stafford’s wish to be dealt, per Pouncey. After negotiating with several teams, the Lions collected two first-round picks, a third and current starter Jared Goff in that seminal swap with the Rams.
Rams Trade RB Cam Akers To Vikings
SEPTEMBER 21: For the conditions to be met, Akers must combine for 500 yards from scrimmage with the Vikings, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. In Akers’ two healthy seasons, he has hit 748 and 903 scrimmage yards, respectively.
SEPTEMBER 20: The off-and-on Rams-Cam Akers drama will come to an end Wednesday. The Rams found a taker for Akers, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero, who reports the Vikings will acquire the fourth-year running back.
Minnesota and Los Angeles will swap late-round 2026 draft choices, Pelissero adds. Given Akers’ inconsistent history, it was always unlikely the Rams would obtain much for him. But the Vikings will take a flier on the former second-round pick.
The Vikings will send Los Angeles a conditional sixth-round pick in 2026. In exchange, the Rams will send Minnesota Akers and a 2026 conditional seventh-rounder, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. Terms on the conditions of each pick have not yet been released, but with nearly three full seasons in between now and then, there are a vast number of possibilities for what might alter these picks.
For an in-season trade, this presents the opportunity for a smooth Akers transition. Kevin O’Connell served as the Rams’ offensive coordinator during Akers’ first two NFL seasons, and Vikings OC Wes Phillips was also in L.A. during that span. Akers will join a Vikings backfield transitioning from Dalvin Cook‘s six-year tenure, leaving the Rams with their now-Kyren Williams-fronted setup behind Matthew Stafford.
The tumultuous Rams-Akers relationship reached the point of no return Sunday, when the team deactivated the former starter for its Week 2 game. Akers, 24, expressed confusion at the move, but he and Sean McVay had not seen eye to eye for periods over the past year. McVay indicated a trade was likely.
Despite opening each of the past two Rams seasons as the starting running back, Akers found himself a healthy scratch each year. Los Angeles scratched Akers for Week 6 last season, as trade rumors swirled. While the team held onto Akers after negotiating with teams ahead of last year’s trade deadline, the Vikings are now responsible for the last year of his rookie deal.
It does not appear the Rams would have settled for his level of trade compensation last year, when they rejected trade offers, but the minimal return points to the Rams being prepared to accept just about anything to end this relationship. The Browns, Buccaneers, Raiders and Ravens were mentioned as interested parties. The Browns took themselves out of the running Wednesday morning, when they reunited with Kareem Hunt. Although McVay disciples are in HC posts elsewhere — Matt LaFleur, Brandon Staley, Zac Taylor — the Vikings make the most sense from a familiarity standpoint due to O’Connell having coached Akers as OC.
While 2026 late-round draft choices effectively indicate how little trade value Akers brought, he has produced promising stretches during an inconsistent career. The Rams turned to the Florida State product late in the 2020 season, and the then-rookie ripped off a 171-yard showing against the Patriots. Akers then amassed 131 rushing yards to help the Rams upset the Seahawks in the 2020 wild-card round. After last year’s spate of hiccups, Akers regrouped to close the season with three straight 100-yard performances. While seldom used as a receiver, Akers has enjoyed productive periods as a ball-carrier.
Of course, Akers also suffered an Achilles tear in July 2021. This prompted the Rams to trade for Sony Michel. While Akers made a surprising return in time for Week 18 and suited up for the Rams in the playoffs, he did not regain his previous form. As the Rams’ O-line deteriorated last season, Akers struggled, leading to the disagreement with McVay. He opened this year with a wildly ineffective 22-carry, 29-yard showing in Seattle, ceding the key backfield touches to Williams, a 2022 fifth-round pick who has seized command for the retooling Rams.
The Vikings turned to longtime Cook backup Alexander Mattison this offseason, opting not to bring in another veteran to supplement the career-long RB2. Mattison, 25, is off to a slow start. The fifth-year back is averaging 3.3 yards per carry; in Week 2, he lost a fumble in what turned out to be a one-score loss to the Eagles. Overall, Minnesota has gained an NFL-low 69 rushing yards. Mattison should still be expected to lead the way in Minnesota, but Akers represents competition. The Vikes roster 2022 fifth-rounder Ty Chandler and late-summer pickup Myles Gaskin behind Mattison.