LA Rams injury update: Cam Akers and the Rams running game

From the moment that the LA Rams got the news that Cam Akers suffered a torn Achilles tendon, the organization and the fans alike were shocked. On July 20, 2021, all of the projections for a solid season out of second-year running back Cam Akers were chucked out the window, and a new projected career track was laid out in front of him.

Get better. Get healthy. Come back to the roster.

That was 19 days ago. Nearly three weeks. Surely there is news to share by now, right? Certainly some bit of surgical progress, discharge, on his way to recovery, right? Well, if there is, nobody’s talking. But that could be okay. After all, bad news travels fast, right? Good news? It takes the scenic route.  So let’s see if we can help prod some information along a little bit.

An Achilles Tendon tear is a difficult matter to discuss without specific details about the injury. If the injury is high enough, the tear occurs in a blood-rich part of the body near the calf muscles. If the tear is low, it happens in an area of the body that is low in fresh blood supply. The key to the repair and recovery of any soft tissue in the human body is the blood supply. It is the one injury that is the most difficult for NFL running backs to overcome. Per a recent study, there is a 78 percent likelihood over three years after the injury in both power ratings and the approximate value of the rusher.

Those could be misleading. NFL teams hardly save the spot for players and take any necessary actions to refill the void on the roster left by the injured player. Teams that run well will typically run well with another running back.  That leads to the chicken versus an egg debate. Do players wither slightly after Achilles Tendon repair, or do opportunities wither for them to return to their former role? Well now, that’s quite a bit to chew on.