The value of running backs might be at an all-time low across the NFL, but one accomplished star at the position could be available on the trade market.
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According to a report from Fox Sports' Jay Glazer, the Los Angeles Rams could be shopping veteran back Cam Akers, as Week 2 of the season gets underway.
Glazer reports that coaches on teams across the league believe Akers is on the trade market, and there is a belief he has "played his final snap" in a Los Angeles Rams uniform.
Adding fuel to Glazer's report, the Rams made Akers inactive for Sunday's clash against the NFC West rival San Francisco 49ers.
Akers, 24, got off to a disappointing start to the 2023 season, rushing for only 29 yards with one touchdown on 22 carries in the Rams' 30-13 opening-week victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
Through the first 30 games of his career, Akers has rushed for 1,443 yards with 10 touchdowns, largely part of a backfield committee in Los Angeles.
Following the trend of teams across the league not paying a premium for running backs, it could be Kyren Williams' emergence that wound up making Akers expendable.
Williams looked the part of a lead dog, rushing for 52 yards with a pair of touchdowns in the first game of his second NFL season. After the Rams chose him in the fifth round of the 2022 draft, Williams has rushed for 191 yards with two touchdowns through his first 11 games.
Meanwhile, the Rams are desperate to create future spending flexibility, and trading Akers — who is in the final year of his contract — would create approximately $1.45 million in cap space this season, while triggering a $512,370 dead-money charge, according to Spotrac.
Time will tell, in a protracted and depressed running back market, if the Rams are able to find a trade partner to make a deal for Akers. But, the combination of freeing up cap space and ceding the lead role to a younger and more affordable option, in Williams, makes a lot of sense for the Rams.
