The Rams have officially activated running back Cam Akers, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Akers, who tore his Achilles tendon just five months ago, might not be able to play over the next few weeks, but the move will allow him to accumulate pension credit for the season (Twitter link).
Even if Akers doesn’t get into the Rams’ upcoming games against the Vikings, Ravens, and 49ers, it’s an encouraging sign for his postseason availability. Once thought to be done for the season, Akers will be able to slot somewhere behind Darrell Henderson in January.
“If you watched him do stuff with the performance staff (Thursday), you would think he could carry the ball 40 times on Sunday,” GM Les Snead said (via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). “The plan is to implement him back into practice settings and make sure he can make football moves, rather than just observing. And from there, it’s how that Achilles recovers. We’ll be smart about it.”
Akers served as the Rams’ primary back down the stretch of last season and he started in both their postseason games. His first late-season start, against the Patriots, saw 171 rushing yards and nearly 200 all-purpose yards. Then, in the Wild Card win against the Seahawks, he managed 131 yards on the ground.
The Rams have little reason to rush Akers on to the field today, but he’ll be cheering his teammates on as they look to hold the top spot in the NFC West.
So thoughtful of them to be doing this for a 21 year old with all of 13 games under his belt in his career.
If he is healthy, and properly monitored, why not? LA has some of, if not the best, sports oriented orthopedists in the world.