Cam Akers said earlier this week that everyone would learn how healthy it is on Thursday night. Health is not a problem; taking advantage of his possibilities is.
Following Akers' limited participation in the Rams' season-opening game against the Bills (12 snaps), coach Sean McVay tasked the running back with doing just that.
According to McVay, ESPN's Sarah Barshop quoted, "You want to see guys do the little things the correct way, compete with and without the ball." There were some occasions where he did good things; somewhere, he might have done better, but we want to see more urgency and accountability from him.
Akers only gained zero yards on three carries. The starter Darrell Henderson played 54 snaps, gained 47 yards on the ground on 13 attempts, and added 26 yards on five receptions.
Akers could have seen fewer opportunities if Kyren Williams hadn't had an early ankle injury.
The Rams will require Akers to fill in for Henderson while Williams is away for 6–8 weeks.
McVay is sure that Akers will be "the person that we've all seen at the perfect moments as this season continues to go" because he knows what Akers is "capable of."
According to McVay, we've all seen this kid's ability to be a terrific player. And I want him to realize his full potential. In essence, that is all there is to it. It's not about anything other than that when he and Darrell [Henderson] are playing well, I have a lot of confidence in those two as our running backs.
"And there were little opportunities. There were some aspects of each of those individual plays that, starting with me and moving on to the players around him and Cam, I believe we can improve upon as a team. As a result, it's more a statement of my confidence in what he can become and my belief that he will emerge at the appropriate times as this season progresses. We have to assist in getting it out of him.
Akers returned in time to participate in both the team's regular-season finale and all four postseason games despite missing the whole of the previous season due to an Achilles tear. He gained 172 yards on the ground and 76 yards on eight receptions during the 2021 postseason. In 2020, he didn't appear the same when he had 156 touches for 748 yards and three touchdowns.
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