It has been a tumultuous season for Rams running back Cam Akers.
In his first campaign since tearing his Achilles in 2021, Akers had a falling out with Los Angeles midway through October, and it appeared that he had played his final snap with the Rams, based on reports. Akers hasn’t played in any of the team’s games since Week 5, missing games against the Panthers and the 49ers.
But the trade deadline came and went, and Akers remained a member of the Rams, with Josina Anderson reporting Akers wanted a “fair resolution” and that the relationship is still amicable.
But it appears Akers could wind up playing again for the Rams after all. He returned to practice on Thursday, and it appears there’s an outside chance he could play for the team soon.
Rams RB Cam Akers participated in the team’s walk through this morning . He has not been with the team the last few weeks because of philosophical issues between him and the team. DT Aaron Donald said Akers was in good spirits and seemed to be happy to be back
— Steve Wyche (@wyche89) November 3, 2022
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With Akers’ return, there’s now more clarity on some of the issues that led to him leaving, and more information emerging about what his return could look like.
Here’s the latest on Akers’ status with the Rams.
Cam Akers’ falling out with Rams, explained
Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris started to shed a little more light on the Akers’ situation on Thursday.
According to ESPN’s Sarah Barshop, Morris said Akers there was a disagreement between Akers and Los Angeles’ system, and that he stepped away from the team. Now, Morris said the team has to “invite him back into the fold.”
“Sometimes you’ve got to get away from tough situations and go through some adversities to have that ability to come back and shine,” Morris said, per Barshop. “We drafted Cam for a reason. We believe in him. He can run the football, he can make people miss. And he’s got to get back to doing that. And he’s got to prove it again to his teammates. And he’s got to prove it again to his coaches.”
“…We drafted Cam for a reason. We believe in him. He can run the football, he can make people miss. And he’s got to get back to doing that. And he’s got to prove it again to his teammates. And he’s got to prove it again to his coaches.”
— Sarah Barshop (@sarahbarshop) November 3, 2022
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At the time of Akers’ departure from the team, McVay described it as an internal issue and described it as “kind of uncharted territory.” He didn’t comment further on the situation.
With things beginning to clear up a bit more, McVay has said that he feels “very encouraged with the dialogue that we had,” per Barshop, and he said the team and Akers are “working through a couple of different options.” McVay also would not rule out Akers playing on Sunday, but said that he didn’t want to “put the cart before the horse.”
“There’s a lot of confidence, there’s a lot of belief in the human being and the player Cam Akers, based on the experiences,” McVay said, per Barshop. “And you don’t want to jump to conclusions just based on a couple things that, nobody was necessarily at fault, but it could have been handled better. And I always look at myself first and foremost.”
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The Rams could certainly use a resurgent Akers back in the fold. Los Angeles has averaged the second fewest yards per carry this season at just 3.3. In his rookie season with Los Angeles, Akers rushed for 625 yards on 145 carries (4.3 yards per attempt).
