Cam Akers hurried to his first practice with the Seahawks Wednesday with the proverbial sense of urgency.
The Seahawks figure to need him as the third running back Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings behind Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet with George Holani dealing with a hamstring injury.
And one reason the Seahawks signed him is that he has some familiarity with the scheme, which is similar to what he ran in Los Angeles for three seasons and parts of another under Sean McVay.
“Just got to come in, learn the terminology, which won’t be hard, and hit the ground running, said the 26-year-old Akers, listed by the Seahawks at 5-foot-10, 217 pounds.
He’s done that at Lumen Field before.
At the end of his rookie season in 2020 with the Rams — who selected him 52nd overall in the draft that year — he rushed for 131 yards at Lumen to help lead the Rams to a 30-20 upset win in a wild card playoff game.
And in 2022 he rushed for 104 at Lumen in a game the Seahawks won 19-16 in overtime to clinch a playoff spot.
In between those two seasons, he helped lead the Rams to a Super Bowl title in 2021 when he came back from an Achilles injury to play in all four postseason games, with 172 yards on 67 carries overall.
So if the Seahawks need him Sunday, Akers says he’ll come running.
“I’m always ready," he said. “You don’t got to get ready if you stay ready. I’m always ready, baby."
Akers played in three games for the Vikings this season with 19 yards on five carries, all in a 48-10 win over the Bengals on Sept. 21.
But he was released by the Vikings last week and available when the Seahawks came calling this week in the wake of the injury to Holani.
The familiarity each has with the other helped seal the deal.
Akers played in L.A. with current receiver Cooper Kupp and when offensive passing game coordinator Jake Peetz was on the staff there, and last year in Minnesota when Sam Darnold was the Vikings QB.
“A lot of respect for Cam," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. “Has a lot of relationships with him from prior stops. System familiar to ours. Expect him to step right in and do a great job."
Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak said it was “to be determined" what role Akers may have Sunday but said “we're happy to have him. I just met him, saw him on the practice field. I have a lot of respect for what he's done throughout his career. I think with us having an injury it's a great pickup, and I’m excited to see what he can do for us."
Seahawks lose Kendrick as Griffin signs to active roster
Among the moves the Seahawks made official Wednesday was the waiving of cornerback Derion Kendrick, who was essentially replaced on the 53-man roster by Shaquill Griffin, who was signed off the practice squad.
Macdonald, though, said the move wasn’t necessarily a one-for-one move saying, “There were other things going on roster-wise is what helped drive that decision."
Those likely included that Griffin had just one practice squad elevation left and would soon have to sign to the 53-man roster if the team wanted him to continue to play.
Kendrick also saw his playing time decrease markedly after a 38-35 loss to Tampa Bay, coupled with the return from injury of Devon Witherspoon and Nick Emmanwori.
Kendrick helped fill in at the nickel spot while each was out, getting interceptions against the Steelers and Saints. Kendrick also was one of the defenders at the point of attack on a punt that the Titans returned 90 yards for a touchdown.
Still, when he met the media before practice, Macdonald said “we hope to get DK back. Just Shaq’s been doing a great job and we felt like that was the right move."
But shortly after Macdonald said those words it was revealed the L.A. Rams — Kendrick’s former team — had claimed him off waivers. Kendrick played for L.A. from 2022-24 before being waived in August and claimed by Seattle.
O’Connell signed to 53-man roster
Among Seattle’s roster moves Wednesday was signing linebacker Patrick O’Connell to the 53-man roster. O’Connell played substantially at inside linebacker Sunday with Tyrice Knight and Ernest Jones IV injured and had eight tackles and a sack.
He also had no more practice squad elevations and had to go on the 53-man roster to play any more games this season.
O’Connell takes the spot on the 53-man of Chazz Surratt, who was placed on injured reserve after hurting his ankle against Tennessee. O’Connell figures to take over Surratt’s special teams roles and add depth at inside linebacker.
Seattle could be back to full health at the top of the ILB depth chart Sunday as Knight was not listed on the injury report Wednesday having cleared the concussion protocol and practicing fully.
Jones, who missed Sunday’s game due to a knee injury that dates to the Nov. 2 game at Washington, also was listed as a full participant.
Asked before practice whether Jones will be available this week, Macdonald said: “E.J. is on his normal workload, but still going to be on ramp. I don't think we're out of the woods yet. I think he has to go test it out see how it feels in full speed for us to start making decisions."
Rookie Mills returns to practice
The Seahawks also designated rookie defensive end Rylie Mills, a fifth-round pick out of Notre Dame, as returning to practice. He has been on the physically unable to perform list while recovering from an ACL injury suffered last December.
Mills can practice for up to 21 days without counting toward the 53-man roster limit but then has to be added to the roster to play.
“Told the team this morning too and they're fired up," Macdonald said. “Rylie's been working extremely hard, and he's been locked in. And I know he's been anticipating this moment for a long time. And just got to go out there play the game you've played his whole life. It's been a minute since he's played. It's going to be great to see him out there in uniform, with a helmet on. It'll be really cool.
Notes
— The Seahawks did not designate tight end Eric Saubert, who is on IR with a calf injury, as returning to practice but Macdonald indicated the team hopes that may be able to happen next week.
— The Seahawks also signed running back Myles Gaskin, a former UW standout who has been with the team for two other stints already this season, to the practice squad as well as receiver Jimmy Holiday, an undrafted rookie out of Louisiana Tech. Tackle Logan Brown was released to make room.
— Along with safety Ty Okada and Holani, rush end Uchenna Nwosu was also listed as not participating due to an ankle injury. Eight players were listed as limited — Mills, running back Kenneth Walker III (glute), defensive end Mike Morris (knee), guard Grey Zabel (knee) and four as resting vets — receivers Kupp and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence and defensive lineman Leonard Williams.
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