After a Week 1 performance that resulted in three carries for no yards and an 18% snap share on the Rams' offense, there was a big question mark surrounding what running back Cam Akers' year was going to look like.
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Akers tore his Achilles in July 2021, and while many wrote him off in 2021, he had what many called a "miraculous return," as he was back on the field six months after initially going down. And truth be told, that is a miraculous return.
Now, however, in the 2022-23 NFL season, Akers has been what seems to be a second thought on offense — and potentially on the Los Angeles Rams in general.
It was nice knowing you Cam Akers 🙃
— Rams HQ 🏈 (@RAMSHQNFL) October 14, 2022
Akers was held out of the Week 6 matchup against the Carolina Panthers, but not for reasons related to injury.
Akers was held out due to "personal reasons." When asked about it, head coach Sean McVay deferred to keeping the reasoning in-house. With the trade deadline approaching, is this the Rams' way of saying Akers isn't on the team much longer, so why play him and risk an injury? Is Akers on the verge of being traded?
That's the assumption, as a report from NFL.com's Ian Rapoport came out that Akers has philosophical and football-related differences with McVay. Almost as soon as we all came to the conclusion that it was announced via Twitter from Gilbert Manzano, the Rams are, indeed, looking for Cam Akers' new home. The Rams are looking to give Cam Akers a fresh, new start.
Who that team is, that's still unknown. There was, and still is, buzz around Christian McCaffrey's name, so the teams that are interested in McCaffrey should also be giving the Rams a call, especially with Akers' potentially cheaper price tag.
Potential Cam Akers Trade Destinations
From @NFLGameDay: The #Rams are expected to field calls for RB Cam Akers and could trade him before the deadline, while the #AZCardinals are severely short-handed at RB today. pic.twitter.com/bFgKuc5GI6
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 16, 2022
The first and most obvious trade destination is Denver. The Broncos offense is abysmal and they lost starting running back Javonte Williams to injury. Melvin Gordon isn't the guy and no team needs depth at the running back position more.
The Buffalo Bills also make sense. They're middle of the pack in running the ball and could use a guy like Akers to complement Devin Singletary. Another weapon in this offense could be even scarier.
One look at the Atlanta Falcons' current depth chart should be enough for general manager Terry Fontenot to pull the trigger on this trade. With Cordarrelle Patterson on IR, that leaves *opens Google* Tyler Allgeier, Caleb Huntley and Avery Williams as the three best options to tote the rock.
Keep calm, Cam Akers fantasy owners. It's possible that an Akers second miraculous return is in the cards.