With Aaron Jones sidelined by a hamstring injury, the Vikings are turning to a familiar face.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Minnesota is expected to sign running back Cam Akers for a third stint with the franchise.
There’s no word on if Akers will sign with the 53-man roster or the practice squad.
Akers, 26, was traded to the Vikings in 2023 and appeared in six games for the club that season. After signing with the Texans in 2024, he was then traded back to the Vikings midway through last year and appeared in 12 games for the club, rushing for 297 yards.
Akers played under Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell with the Rams when O’Connell was the Los Angeles’ offensive coordinator. The two won Super Bowl LVI together to cap the 2021 season.
Akers has rushed for 2,025 yards and 13 touchdowns in 53 career games. He was a Rams second-round pick in 2020.
The Vikings are making a move to fortify the quarterback position while J.J. McCarthy recovers from his ankle injury.
Per NFL Media, Minnesota is signing quarterback Desmond Ridder to their 53-man roster.
Ridder, 26, spent the preseason with the Bengals but had not found a team since he was let go at the end of August. Coincidentally, Minnesota plays Cincinnati this week.
By signing Ridder to the 53-man roster, the Vikings will be able to have him suit up as the emergency third QB.
McCarthy is still not expected to be placed on injured reserve, which would automatically make him ineligible to play for at least four weeks.
A third-round pick in 2022, Ridder has appeared in 25 games with 18 starts over the last three seasons. He went 6-7 as the Falcons’ starter in 2023 before he was traded to Arizona. The Cardinals subsequently let him go, and he hooked up with the Raiders last season, completing 61.2 percent of his throws for 458 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in six games.
Ridder has completed 63.6 percent of his career passes for 4,002 yards with 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
With McCarthy sidelined, Minnesota’s top three quarterbacks for Week 3 are set up to be Carson Wentz, Max Brosmer, and Ridder.
The Bengals have made several roster moves official as the club sets itself up to deal with Joe Burrow’s extended absence.
Cincinnati officially placed Burrow on injured reserve, as he’s expected to miss three months after surgery to repair torn ligaments in his toe.
Jake Browning is set to be the team’s starter in Burrow’s absence.
As one corresponding move, Cincinnati has signed Brett Rypien to the 53-man roster off the club’s practice squad. He’s set to be Browning’s backup.
Additionally, Cincinnati made the signings of quarterbacks Mike White and Sean Clifford to the practice squad official. The Bengals also signed receiver Kendric Pryor to their practice squad. Pryor had been with the Bengals during the offseason program and training camp.
Without question, Joe Burrow is one of the best quarterbacks in the game. He has the potential, if surrounded by the right supporting cast (most notably, offensive line and defense) to become an all-time great.
But it’s hard to deny one key fact. He gets injured. A lot.
The best ability, as the cliche goes, is availability. (Cliches usually become cliche because they’re true.) And of the current group of the best quarterbacks in the league, Burrow is the one who has missed the most time. In six seasons, he has now had three serious injuries.
It’s not because he’s fragile. It’s because he’s fearless. To a fault.
If it’s fair to make that part of the overall evaluation of Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, it’s fair to make it part of the overall evaluation of Burrow.
From a torn ACL in 2020 to a season-ending wrist injury in 2023 to a torn toe ligament(s) that will keep him out until the middle of December at the earliest (by the time he’s healthy, the season could be lost), three of Burrow’s six seasons have been derailed by an inability to suit up and play for an extended stretch of the calendar.
Some have already begun to compare him to Andrew Luck. Which opens the door to the question of whether, like Luck, Burrow will decide to prematurely pull the plug on playing. Surgery is a big deal. Rehab can be grueling. Pain, discomfort, medication, etc. All in the name of coming back and potentially being injured all over again.
Luck had enough before he turned 30. Burrow turns 29 on December 10.
While it’s unthinkable to think Burrow will retire early, it was unthinkable to think Luck would do it — until he did. It’s also possible that Burrow will realize the Bengals will never make the financial commitment necessary to put the right pieces around him, and that before calling it quits he’ll decide to try to play for a team that can, and will, spend the cash necessary to get the most out of his skills, abilities, and physical sacrifices.
However it plays out, it has now become glaring. He’s in the current quartet of the best in the game, with Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson (not necessarily in that order). But Burrow is the only one to have a serious, multi-month injury.
And he’s had three of them.
Fourteen years ago, Carson Palmer realized that the organization’s decision to prioritize money over winning required him to move on. As Burrow spends the next three months coming back from his latest major injury, it would be foolish to think he’s not having similar thoughts.
The Bengals started reaching out to free agent quarterbacks after Joe Burrow’s toe injury on Sunday and they decided to double down on additions at the position.
According to multiple reports, the Bengals are going to sign Sean Clifford and Mike White to their practice squad. Brett Rypien has been on the practice squad, but could move up to the 53-man roster now that Jake Browning will be the No. 1 quarterback in Cincinnati.
Clifford was a 2023 Packers fifth-round pick and was released by the team in August. He appeared in two games as a rookie and completed his only pass attempt for a 37-yard gain.
White was with the Bills this summer and played in one game for Buffalo last season. He made six appearances for the Dolphins and started seven games for the Jets in 2021 and 2022.
The most memorable of those games came against his new team in 2021. White threw for 405 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Jets to a 34-31 win over the Bengals.
