3 ways Cam Akers will help you forget Rams RB Todd Gurley in 2023

Reason I: He’s back, baby!

Let’s not diminish the Herculean effort exhibited by Cam Akers to close out the 2022 NFL season. At one point in his career, Akers had to face the possibility of never playing football again. That possibility did not confront him after years of competing in the NFL, but rather in his second season. And yet, that is when he hit that major fork in the road: Should he try to salvage his NFL career? Or would it be wiser for him to forego the long painful days of rehab, and simply give up his dream to star in the NFL?

He faced the pain and held onto his dream.

While three games are not a sizeable enough sample to form a sound scientific projection, it is enough to form speculative conclusions. At 115 yards and one touchdown per game,  Akers was in the ballpark of 2000 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns per season rate of production for the Rams offense. Will that happen? Not likely. But 1000 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns per season have a feasible chance of occurring. Those truly are Todd Gurley-like numbers, something the LA Rams offense has not benefitted from in many years.

I’m not here to diminish the incredible production of Todd Gurley. Rather, I’m here to champion the incredible journey back from the brink of nothingness that Rams running back Cam Akers has endured. Gurley’s numbers speak for themselves, and there is no true comparison in terms of historical careers.

But where Gurley’s career ended prematurely, Akers’s career may take on a new life after a serious and potentially career-ending injury. And since this is the offseason, why not be optimistic and believe in the guy who has endured so much already?