Rams look to trade RB Cam Akers and ‘help him look for a fresh new start’
Rams coach Sean McVay revealed Monday that they’re looking to trade running back Cam Akers.
“There is a possibility that we could try to help him look for a fresh new start with another team,” McVay said. “That’s something that we’ve explored. If that doesn’t come to fruition then we’ll figure out a solution how to best move forward with him here and those will be things that we’ll work toward over the next couple days.”
Akers was sent home by the team last week and missed two days of practice and Sunday’s win against the Carolina Panthers for “in-house” reasons that McVay continued to keep private during his Zoom news conference with reporters Monday.
McVay didn’t rule out the possibility of Akers returning to the team, but he mentioned that a trade would be the best option right now.
“That’s definitely something that I would never say is off the table,” McVay said. “I’d like to think I’m a very open-minded person, but I think when you look at certain situations and scenarios with the way things have unfolded, as of right now, I think that’s the best option for all parties I think would be to explore if there’s a good situation for him with another team. If that doesn’t come to fruition, figuring out the best way to be able to utilize him and him being the best player he’s capable of is off the table – I would never speak in absolutes like that.”
Akers, the team’s 2020 second-round pick, and McVay have had differences this season, issues that came to light after McVay challenged Akers to have more urgency after the season-opening loss to the Buffalo Bills. Akers mostly stood on the sideline against the Bills and only received three carries.
Akers has struggled this season with an average of 3 yards per carry, but he delivered a standout performance in Week 3 when he had 61 rushing yards and a 14-yard rushing touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals. That might be Akers’ final touchdown with the Rams if the team is able to execute a trade in the coming days.
“There’s been calls made,” McVay said. “There’s expiration discussions as it relates to the possibility of him playing for another team and that’s the 100 percent truth and that’s exactly where we’re at with it right now. … This is all a new situation.”
The Rams reportedly have interest in Panthers star running back Christian McCaffrey, but executing a trade for him would require overcoming a handful of obstacles, such as a lack of draft capital and salary cap space for the Rams.
Akers’ trade value might not be high because of his struggles on the field since his return from an Achilles injury that sidelined him for most of the 2021 regular season. The Rams once had high hopes for Akers and now they’re hoping another team has similar sentiments for the former Florida State running back.
“(It’s) an internal issue,” McVay said. “I’ll keep it at that out of respect for a lot of the things behind the scenes. There’s probably a move that will be made in regards to him being with another team. If that doesn’t happen, we’ll move forward, and there’s a lot of layers to it, but that’s where I’ll keep it.”
Sean McVay said they're looking to move RB Cam Akers to a new team: Help him look for a fresh new start #Rams
— Gilbert Manzano (@GManzano24) October 17, 2022