Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell said running back Alexander Mattison suffered a concussion in Sunday's game versus the Saints.

Related players: Myles Gaskin, Ty Chandler, Kene Nwangwu

The trend has been players sit out at least week after falling into concussion protocol, so Mattison owners may want to make alternate plans now. To complicate things, Mattison and the Vikings have the Sunday night game at Denver in Week 11. Chandler could see a bulk of the work and scored on a wildcat formation play in Week 10. The team has already signed Gaskin ahead of Week 11. Chandler could make for an interesting pickup this week if he's on your wire. It's a favorable matching against the Broncos.

Vikings running back Cam Akers will miss the rest of the season with a torn Achilles tendon.

That was believed to be the case as soon as Akers went down on Sunday, and it was confirmed by an MRI today, coach Kevin O’Connell confirmed today.

Related players: Alexander Mattison, Ty Chandler, Kene Nwangwu

This is the second time Akers has torn his Achilles. He previously tore it in July of 2021 when he was with the Rams and made a remarkably quick recovery, getting back on the field for the final game of the regular season. But even if he can repeat that remarkably quick recovery this time, he won’t be at full speed until April, the story said. Akers was cutting into Mattison's time since getting up to speed after being traded. The RB2 job would seem to go back to Chandler, although the Vikings, sitting at 5-4, may very well bring in another back.

Vikings officially have placed WR Justin Jefferson on IR.

Related players: Jordan Addison, K.J. Osborn, Jalen Nailor, T.J. Hockenson, Alexander Mattison

The prevailing thought is that Jefferson may have a hard time finding the field again in 2023, particularly if the Vikings show no interest in trading him, which is a distinct possibility. It'll be hard to drop him, so hopefully you have an IR spot in your league.

The #Vikings are placing their superstar WR Justin Jefferson on injured reserve.

Related players: Jordan Addison, K.J. Osborn, Jalen Nailor, T.J. Hockenson, Alexander Mattison

The exact timetable is to be determined and depends on how he responds to treatment, according to Pelissero, but he's going to miss at least the next four games. It's a huge loss for the Vikings who have struggled to start the season, and it's a huge loss for fantasy owners who likely drafted Jefferson first overall this summer. Pelissero mentioned the Vikings will now lean on players like Addison, Osborn and Hockenson in the passing game, and Mattison could be more involved as well out of the backfield.

Head coach Kevin O'Connell referred to Cam Akers, acquired Sept. 20 via trade from the Rams, as complementing starter Alexander Mattison, who still dominated the playing time and workload with 98 yards from scrimmage. But O'Connell envisions a role for both.

"Seeing how [Akers] complements Alex," O'Connell said after the game, "when those guys can both stay fresh and be maximizing their opportunities, it was exciting to see that [Sunday]. ... Cam is always going to have real firm, solid finish [to runs] just like Alex does, where yards after contact should be a good number for him."

In his Vikings debut, Akers was effective with 51 yards on seven touches, the story pointed out. He flashed acceleration and power, while benefiting from the season's best blocking and perhaps the lightest competition to date, the story added. Akers had a three-down role, taking every snap in a 10-play drive in the second quarter. But as the story also said, Mattison still controlled most of the playing time and since the trade has carried 37 times for 188 yards (5.08 YPC) in two games, vs. the first two games where he ran 19 times for 62 yards.

The Vikings are planning to get newly acquired tailback Cam Akers involved in at least part of their game plan for their next game Sunday at the Carolina Panthers.

Related players: Alexander Mattison

The story was mainly about head coach Kevin O'Connell threatening to bench players because of turnovers. As the story said, Mattison fumbled twice against the Eagles in Week 2, and fumbled two more times in Week 3 - however he was ruled down on one and that his forward progress stopped on another. While Mattison produced better fantasy numbers, Akers looks to be a threat to some of his touches going forward. Also, Kirk Cousins threw an interception at the goal line and another in the end zone while TE T.J. Hockenson lost a fumble this past week.

The Vikings are waiving rookie seventh-round pick RB DeWayne McBride, per source.

Related players: Alexander Mattison, Ty Chandler, Kene Nwangwu

Those taking McBride in dynasty leagues this spring were probably hoping for a role in the Vikings backfield after the team released Dalvin Cook. McBride actually had a good summer and scored two preseason TDs, according to the post. But the Vikes are poised to give the RB1 job to Mattison with Chandler emerging as the team's RB2.

From the outset, Kevin O’Connell and the Minnesota Vikings staff are very committed to Alexander Mattison being the guy.

Related players: Ty Chandler, Kene Nwangwu, DeWayne McBride

Silva's post quoted Connor Allen. Allen's post from a podcast went on to say that Mattison has also been active as a receiver. Mattison doesn't have much behind him on the depth chart either, and he's shaping up to be a make or break fantasy target at the RB spot. Our John Paulsen went on to break down Mattison's potential for 2023: With Dalvin Cook out of the way, Mattison has a great chance to finish as a fantasy RB1. In the 14 games that Mattison has seen at least 10 carries, he has averaged 18.1 touches for 88 yards and 0.57 touchdowns. The resulting 13.0 half-PPR points per game are about what Jamaal Williams and Aaron Jones averaged as low-end RB1s in 2022. Even better–in his seven starts from 2020-21, he averaged 23.3 touches for 118 yards and 0.72 touchdowns per game. That production would have beaten out Saquon Barkley and Nick Chubb last season.

Vikings are to officially release Dalvin Cook on Friday. One of the NFL’s most dynamic playmakers, Cook is coming off a fourth straight 1,000-yard season and has 52 career TDs. Now he’ll be a free agent at age 27 and will have multiple suitors.

Related Players: Alexander Mattison, Ty Chandler

The move has been long-rumored, so this doesn't come as much surprise. According to talks throughout the offseason, Mattison should be expected to takeover the lead-back role, with Chandler acting as the team's No. 2.

Vikings OC Wes Phillips on whether second-year RB Ty Chandler is ready for an increased role: "I think he's going to have to be."

Chandler probably has the advantage in the competition for the presumptive No. 2 RB spot behind presumptive No. 1 RB Alexander Mattison.

Related Players: Dalvin Cook

Yet more smoke to the fire that is Dalvin Cook playing the 2023 season outside of Minnesota. We're past June 1st, so the news on Cook moving on is presumably right around the corner.