By The first truly devastating injury of the 2021 preseason, Cam Akers’ season (and possibly career prospects) are now in question after a torn Achilles’ tendon in training. So, what does this mean for Akers and LA moving forward?
Akers’ Future
The history of RBs attempting to return from Achilles’ injuries is truly discouraging:
A best-case scenario for Akers would be a decent season in 2023 and moving forward. Halfbacks in particular struggle mightily in returning from this particular injury as so much of their success hinges upon explosive movements. In the modern NFL, backs can now come back from ACL tears, such as Adrian Peterson. However, there really isn’t a precedent for an RB to come back and sustain a career afterwards, much less play at a high level.
The closest comparison would probably be Mikel Leshoure.
Leshoure was also an beast in college. He tore his Achilles’ his rookie year, and while he did have 798 yards the season after, he only averaged 3.7 yards/carry, and for the rest of his career he had… 9 yards.
What does this mean for the Rams?
To make the matter of the Cam Akers injury even worse for the Rams, with the exception of backup Darrell Henderson, all other RBs on their roster have a total of… 0 NFL carries. Xavier Jones, Jake Funk and Raymond Calais are primarily special teams players, and none are even guaranteed to make the final roster, although their odds significantly improved after this week’s news. It seems likely that Sean McVay elects to sign a veteran RB before the beginning of the season, although he claimed otherwise.
Eventually, the Rams will sign another RB. They may wait until final cuts, but running back is now such a position of need I doubt it. They need to ensure they have sufficient depth for an offense that has traditionally built its passing game off play-action. In fact, it would not surprise me to see them try out multiple running backs in the coming weeks.
So, what veteran options are out there at the position?
Todd Gurley
The most obvious option would be former Rams RB Todd Gurley, who enjoyed a wildly productive run from 2015 to 2019 with 70 TDs. However, that was before debilitating knee injuries that led to a rapid downfall for Gurley. In 2018, he led the league in rushing TDs, now he’s currently unsigned.
Rams reporter Jourdan Rodrigue said the Rams view signing Gurley as a “non-starter”, as they “clearly don’t believe that Gurley can be effective in the run game anymore (even in a rotation!) due to the injuries that they hemmed and hawed around for the entire 2019 season, which is why they cut him in early 2020 despite owing him a lot more money.”
Adrian Peterson
While not exactly an infusion of youth, Peterson would be a veteran presence at age 36. And given he’d be 13 years older than their next oldest player at the position, a veteran presence would not be the worst option. He can be trusted not to fumble and in pass protection, and proved he still has a little juice in his legs last season with the Lions.
What it comes down to is the same reason why the Redskins cut Peterson last preseason; he could interfere with the development of their younger options. However, with the trade for Matthew Stafford, the Rams signaled they are all-in for this season, so a 1-year contract for the future Hall of Famer surely looking to latch on with a contender for one last shot at a ring could make sense for both sides.
Where do the Rams go from here?
No matter how you slice it, LA is in rough shape at the halfback position following the Cam Akers injury. Barring an unforeseen breakout from Darrell Henderson where he manages to stay healthy all 17 games, the Rams will require reinforcements at a position they revolve their offense around. Even then, their talent level will certainly have decreased from last season, as they let Malcolm Brown leave in free agency. While it remains to be seen which route the Rams take, one thing is for sure; it’s Darrell Henderson szn.
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