Life hasn’t been too easy for the reigning Super Bowl champion Rams in 2022. The offensive line is banged-up. Receiving options outside of Cooper Kupp and Tyler Higbee have been practically non-existent. And the run game has massively underwhelmed, with neither Cam Akers nor Darrell Henderson Jr. making waves.
Akers’ season has proved especially disappointing. He was expected by many to cement himself as one of the NFC West’s top backs, but instead he has just 151 yards on 51 carries.
His struggles seemingly reached a crescendo this week. First, Akers missed two days of practice for what was termed personal reasons. Now, he won’t play in the Rams’ Week 6 game against the Panthers, and it’s not known when he will return to action. Coach Sean McVay didn’t give a specific reason, but he said the team was “working through some different things” with its third-year back.
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It appeared Akers was ready to step into a feature back role this year after tearing his Achilles tendon prior to the 2021 season.
That hasn’t happened. Akers had just three rushes for zero yards against Buffalo in Los Angeles’ first game of the season. Although he has been more involved in the offense in recent weeks, his productivity has been far below what LA needs.
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McVay indicated that Akers was good to go physically, but he also highlighted how unusual Akers’ absence is.
“[This is] kind of uncharted territory, and I think the biggest thing is, out of respect for the situation, [we] want to keep it internal,” McVay said.
Sean McVay Akers pre-amble and question answering pic.twitter.com/2JI91NBMTg
— rivers mccown (alt) (@mccownclips) October 14, 2022
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Rams RB depth chart
With Henderson and Malcolm Brown on the active roster and Ronnie Rivers on the practice squad, the Rams do have choices for potential replacements. The team’s unofficial depth chart as of Oct. 14:
| Rank | Player |
| 1 | Cam Akers |
| 2 | Darrell Henderson Jr. |
| 3 | Malcolm Brown |
McVay didn’t rule out bringing in another back while Akers is away, though.
“We’ll always explore options if we feel like there’s chances to upgrade,” McVay said. “[But] that’s probably not something that’s at the forefront.”
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