Christmas miracle: LA Rams designate Cam Akers to return to roster

Guess who is coming to dinner? Oh hell, I can’t keep a secret like this in. Cam Akers is coming back, and you can bet that has electrified the entire LA Rams organization.

When the LA Rams drafted running back Cam Akers with the 52nd pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, there was a sign of relief and hope. You see, Akers had all the makings of a true mudder. That is, he is the type of NFL running back whose production would occur between the tackles, at the perimeter, rushing for tough yards, as well as big runs to break a game wide open. He could be counted on in sunshine, rain, or snow. He was just oozing all-purpose-back.

His first breakout game occurred in 2020 on Week 13, when he gashed the New England Patriots defense for 171 yards on just 29 carries. His second true breakout game occurred in the Wildcare Round of the 2020 NFL Playoffs when he rushed 28 times for 131 yards and a touchdown to help defeat the Seattle Seahawks.

He followed that up with a gutsy 90 yards and a touchdown on just 18 carries against the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs.

Achilles Tendon Tear

Unfortunately, after a very promising training camp, the unthinkable happened. The news broke on July 20, 2021. LA Rams Cam Akers had suffered a tear of his Achilles Tendon and the likely outcome would be the loss of the entire 2021 NFL season.

Since that time, the LA Rams roster at running back has undergone quite a bit of change. The LA Rams lost both Xavier Jones and Raymond Calais to injury. The team also lost rookie Jake Funk for a few weeks due to a nagging hamstring injury.  To fill the thinning ranks, the LA Rams traded for a one-year rental of Sony Michel, who has done an outstanding job of power running for the Rams in winning the last three consecutive games.

But when you least expected it, guess who is back?

While there is plenty to sort out and improve upon enough to activate Cam Akers, the LA Rams, and the medical staff believe that he is ready to return to the NFL.  Now, he has just 21 days to get back into that NFL play shape, strength, and speed. So the question is, will he or won’t he be back before the playoffs?

What does Akers return mean for the LA Rams offense?

Well, let’s cut right to it. Cam Akers is coming back. Oh, it’s on. It’s on like Donkey Kong!

Now, let’s settle in on the more practical issues. Akers has 21 days to return to the active roster for the LA Rams. Since he was designated to return on December 23, 2021, the LA Rams do not need to activate him before playing their last regular-season game of the 2021 NFL season. In 17 days, the LA Rams will host the San Francisco 49ers for the season finale.

But there are good reasons to get him involved on the offense in the regular season. We’ve seen how practices simply cannot replicate the intensity and speed of an NFL game. For Akers, getting even one regular-season game to reacquaint his body to the game and to his teammates would be a strong advantage if the team intends to turn over the lion’s share of work to the returning runner.

It would also be wise to give the coaching staff a database of recent performance to best judge which rusher would be ideally suited for starting in the post-season. Whether or not Akers returns to run four times for three yards, or 40 times for 300 yards, the fact that he is returning is a huge emotional victory for the LA Rams. It’s the kind of uplifting boost that could propel the team to success through the remainder of the season and into the post-season.

Like Andrew Whitworth did in 2020, Cam Akers’ rapid return defies conventional medical science. By rights, an injury like Akers suffered typically takes anywhere from 9-12 months to heal Akers is back in under six months. Just, wow!