The Cam Akers situation has started to pick up speed. For those who don’t know, Akers has asked for a trade due to differences shared with head coach Sean McVay. The rumors started swirling in week six when Akers was held out of practice for personal reasons and listed as inactive for their game against Carolina.
As it turns out, when McVay said Cam and the team were “working through some stuff,” they were essentially talking him down from a ledge. The Cam Akers situation has exploded, and the team has decided he will be moved this season. But how did we get to this point?
Foundation Of The Cam Akers Situation:
The Rams drafted Akers in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft out of Florida State. The pick came a few months after the team released mainstay running back Todd Gurley. It was imminent that Akers would be the number-one back and, at the very least, share the number-one carries. He did that but only after battling multiple injuries that kept him out of five games.
Akers had his coming out party on Thursday Night Football vs. the New England Patriots. In prime time, Akers went off, carrying the ball 29 times for 171 yards. Akers finished his rookie year with 625 yards on 145 touches and two touchdowns. The party didn’t stop there, though. Akers almost single-handily took down the Seattle Seahawks in the wild-card round. He rushed for 131 yards on 28 attempts with a touchdown. Akers continued his breakout in a divisional-round matchup with 90 yards on 18 attempts and a touchdown.
Last season Akers was primed to be the number-one back, possibly a top-10 running back in the league. Those plans didn’t come to be when Akers tore his Achilles tendon in training camp. The injury kept him out until January when he returned ahead of schedule in time for the playoff push. Upon his return, he looked off, and it could’ve been rust. It could’ve been that the Rams played four of the best running defenses of the second half of the season in four of the five games he played. Nonetheless, Akers didn’t have that same fire or explosiveness and developed a fumbling issue.
Akers came into 2022 refreshed and a year removed from surgery to repair his Achilles. But the fumbling issue continued, and he left a lot to be desired. This leads us to the Cam Akers situation.
The Cam Akers Situation:
In week one vs. the Buffalo Bills, Akers got just three rushing attempts in a blowout loss. This was the beginning of the Cam Akers situation. Coach McVay openly criticized Akers in the media, saying, “Cam Akers needs to maximize his opportunities.” In saying that, McVay was referring to Akers making the most of his playing time. The critique would continue when McVay would say, “No matter who you’re talking about, you want to see guys do the little things the right way, compete with and without the ball.”
Akers apparently didn’t perform to the liking of McVay. We’ve learned that coach McVay likes things to be done a certain way. He likes competitors and guys that work hard. On that night, Cam seemed not to withstand that threshold. The relationship seemed to be pulling apart that night and has continued as Akers has done much of nothing in five games. Thus creating the Cam Akers situation.
In five games, Akers has found the endzone once, attempting 51 rushes for only 151 yards. The question starts forming “is it the offensive line, or is it, Cam?” For reference, his partner Darrell Henderson has performed better. Carrying the ball 46 times, he has compiled 181 yards and two touchdowns. As bad as the offensive line has played, I’m leaning more toward the issue lying with Akers.
What’s The Aftermath?:
With McVay confirming that Akers has played his last game in a Rams uniform, the Cam Akers situation is definitely ending in a trade. So, what’s the best LA can get in return? Until last night, LA was in on a trade for Christian McCaffrey, who ultimately ended up with San Francisco. Now, what is the Rams backup plan? The Denver Broncos look upset with Melvin Gordon, benching him on Monday night after six carries. But would Denver be interested in Cam Akers for Melvin Gordon? With the recent moves to bolster the offensive line and Brian Allen’s return to his center position, it looks like a running back would be the return.
Akers is a capable NFL back, but it seems like he does not fit into a McVay system any longer. This Cam Akers situation is something that needs to be monitored because the Rams arch-rival, the 49ers, just made the move of the year last night. To keep up, LA needs to get a running back capable of upgrading from Akers and will complement Darrell Henderson.
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