Disgruntled Rams veteran earns chance to face his former team again

The NFL is a small community, and the Los Angeles Rams know that very well. When the Rams part ways with players, there is always the acknowledgement that those same players may very well end up on the roster of a future opponent. And that means that a former player may someday be competing against the Rams as quickly as the very next season.

Rams fans are already preparing for the heartbreak of seeing former Rams All-Pro WR Cooper Kupp competing for the rival Seattle Seahawks. And the fans know that the San Francisco 49ers signed WR Demarcus Robinson and claimed CB Tre Tomlinson off the Rams' waiver wire.

But the street runs both ways. Long-time Arizona Cardinals starting left tackle DJ Humphries just signed with the LA Rams. I wish the signing had been under better circumstances. Unfortunately, starting left tackle Alaric Jackson is battling blood clots, the same ailment that shut him down mid-season in 2022. So, DJ Humphries is more than a depth addition. It appears that he will serve as the Rams' proxy starting left tackle until Alaric Jackson is healthy enough to take up the mantle once more.

Like I said, it's a small world after all.

But some players seem to seek out opportunities to face their former team. Former Rams running back Cam Akers is one such player. He was traded by the Rams to the Minnesota Vikings after he was rumored to be dissatisfied with sharing the workload of carrying the football. He appeared in six games for the Vikings in 2023, but he failed to trigger the production clauses that would have sent a Viking draft pick to the Rams. In essence, he was free.

He signed on with the Houston Texans in 2024, but after showing significant progress, was traded back to the Minnesota Vikings. He faced the Rams twice last season, but was relatively ineffective against his former team.

In 2025, he tried out for the New Orleans Saints.

And as expected, the five-year veteran running back impressed the Saints coaching staff well enough to pry a one-year prove-it deal from them.

That puts RB Cam Akers back on the Rams schedule. This time, he is scheduled to face the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9 in SoFi Stadium. That game will be held on November 2, 2025, with kickoff slated for 1:05 pm PT.

Despite showing tremendous potential and grit for the Rams when he first entered the league, since falling to two Achilles Tendon injuries, Cam Akers has struggled to reclaim his path to a successful NFL career. He appeared to flash some of his early success when running for the Houston Texans, but he was traded away and never seemed to get traction with the Vikings.

Now that he has signed with his fourth NFL team in three seasons, he hopes to run effectively enough to re-sign with the Saints for a multi-year contract at the end of 2025.

To do that, he will need to exorcise his past demons. While I hope for Akers to have a long and prosperous NFL career, when it comes to putting up huge gains on the ground against this defense in 2025, I just don't see it happening.

As always, thanks for reading.

Here are other recent Rams articles you should enjoy