INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Los Angeles Rams running back Cam Akers will not be active for Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers, a league source confirmed Sunday.
NFL reporter Jay Glazer first reported the news on the Fox broadcast in the hours leading up to the game. Glazer also said the Rams are now attempting to trade Akers.
Akers is a healthy scratch, which means he is not dealing with any injuries that would make him inactive. The Rams elevated running back Royce Freeman off the practice squad Saturday. Minus Akers, their running back rotation features Kyren Williams, Zach Evans, Ronnie Rivers and Freeman, although it’s currently unknown whether all four will be active against San Francisco. Inactives are officially released by the team 90 minutes before kickoff.
Without Akers active, Williams will likely take the lead role.
Last season, the Rams attempted to trade Akers ahead of the deadline but could not, and received no legitimate offers, team and league sources said at that time. The Rams held Akers out of practice in mid-October of last season, citing “personal reasons.” Coach Sean McVay, who initially called the situation an “internal” matter, later publicly confirmed the Rams were working to trade Akers.
Team and league sources told The Athletic at that time that the previous situation was related to miscommunication about Akers’ role and a lack of clarity between the running back and the Rams’ first-year position coach as well as higher-level coaches. The Rams also dealt with a catastrophic streak of injuries along their offensive line throughout 2022 and did not run the ball effectively most of the year. McVay and Akers had a discussion after the Rams could not trade him, and Akers finished the 2022 season strongly, with over 100 rushing yards per game in the Rams’ last three games.
Akers was praised by coaches for the quality of his preseason and training camp and took leadoff reps in practices throughout that entire time. Still, McVay and other coaches have made it clear that each week would be a competition at most positions.
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(Photo: Steven Bisig / USA Today)
