Per Tom Pelissero, Rams rejected multiple trade offers for RB Cam Akers

If you think that the LA Rams had no trade offers for running back Cam Akers, think again. At least that is the latest Rams rumor from NFL Network’s NFL Insider Tom Pelissero. What were those offers? Clearly not at a level the LA Rams felt was adequate compensation. Does that make sense?  I’m trying to process that, but the assertion does not seem to fit the facts.

In any case, we did read reports of several teams that showed interest in trading for RB Cam Akers before the deadline. Is it possible that some made actual offers? That is what Pelissero now reports, and he has an excellent credibility.

So which teams may have been in the mix, and at what trade compensation?

Were Bills one of the trade offers for Akers?

Well, one trade that seemed to be particularly intriguing was that of the Buffalo Bills, a team that was named as a possible suitor for Cam Akers and who pulled the trigger on a running back from the Indianapolis Colts. That running back is named Nyheim Hines whose production seemed less than that of Cam Akers. In that exchange, the Bills traded RB Zack Moss and a conditional sixth-round pick for the player.

So I would speculate that was an offer that likely was on the table for the Rams which they rejected. Based on the limited information, I think that is a logical starting point. So why would the Rams not take an offer of that nature, knowing that the team could end up cutting the running back altogether?

The Rams had traded more productive veterans in the past for far less. But I think the sticking point is the fact that Akers remains playing in the third season of his four-year rookie contract. That fact holds value to the Rams’ front office, as they not only use a player’s production in their calculus but the current contract price and the projected fair market value of that player.

That is why a player like DE Brian Burns, in the fourth season of his rookie contract, prompted the reported two first-round-picks offer from the LA Rams. Part of that package, if you would, compensated the Panthers for surrendering a below FMV contract player.

Take it easy on Akers

So now, the Rams rejected offers, and the relationship will all fall back in place? I’m not convinced that it’s as easy as all of that. But lest we judge Cam Akers too harshly, let’s tap the brakes on what he has been through. He is firey competitive. Just one week after suffering a high ankle sprain in his rookie season, he was back on the field and showed up huge in the NFL playoffs.

And we all applauded his willingness to put so much on the line for the team.

When he suffered a ruptured Achilles Tendon, he underwent a radically innovative surgical technique that shaved months off his recovery time. But, the healing process for an Achilles Tendon injury is not just healing the body, but also the mind. Right now, Akers needs to build up trust with his repaired ankle, and the LA Rams run blocking is not giving him the opportunity or the time necessary to reestablish that trust.

I get it. Akers wants not just to play for the Rams, but he wants to contribute. Right now, that is not a likely outcome of this situation. That, in the end, is the true tragedy of it all.

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