According to reports from across the league, the Los Angeles Rams are actively trying to trade running back Cam Akers. The running back will not play in Week 6’s contest against the Carolina Panthers and most believe that he has played his last down in Los Angeles. Akers hasn’t lived up to his pre-draft billing since joining the NFL, but there are a few teams that would likely be interested in adding him to their backfield.
Kinda sounds like Cam Akers is getting traded? https://t.co/dEjSHz9gQF
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) October 14, 2022
Keep in mind that, unlike most teams trading players at this time of the year, the Los Angeles Rams are still very much in the playoff race and probably won’t trade to anyone in their own division, or even the conference. So, while the San Francisco 49ers could definitely use another running back, the Rams would never trade Akers within the division.
Top Five Cam Akers Trade Destinations
1. Buffalo Bills
It is no secret that the Buffalo Bills are looking for a better running back. Devin Singletary is a below-average starter, Zack Moss is a below-average backup, and rookie James Cook is clearly not ready for the big stage. While the team would probably prefer to get Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers, Akers would be a fine consolation prize and would improve their overall backfield.
2. Kansas City Chiefs
After struggling in his first two years, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire is finally starting to play up to his draft capital. Edwards-Helaire is a serviceable starter, but the Chiefs will be in serious trouble if he suffers an injury. Ronald Jones is clearly not the answer as an early-down back, and Jerick McKinnon and Isiah Pacheco have too much and too little experience, respectively, to handle a full workload. Akers would be the ideal change of pace back as long as Edwards-Helaire is healthy with the potential to handle starting duties should injury strike.
3. Miami Dolphins
After five weeks of action, Chase Edmonds is looking like one of the worst free agent signings of the past offseason. Signed to decent money, the former Arizona Cardinal has lost the starting job to Raheem Mostert and might have even lost the backup job to Myles Gaskin. Mostert has played well but, considering his extensive injury history, you can’t count on him staying on the field. The Dolphins spent a lot of money to make sure that Gaskin wouldn’t have to touch the football, so it’s not unreasonable to think that they’d be willing to ship over a late-round pick in exchange for Akers.
4. New England Patriots
Bill Belichick loves buying low on talented players, and Akers could be the next rags to riches story to come out of New England. Rhamondre Stevenson looks like a stud in the making and Damien Harris is currently in the final year of his contract. Assuming his hamstring injury isn’t anything serious, it would make all the sense in the world for the Patriots to trade Harris to the Rams in exchange for Akers and a late-round pick. Stevenson would handle most of the work, but Belichick loves having multiple starting-caliber backs on the roster, especially when Akers won’t hit free agency until 2024.
5. Carolina Panthers
I said earlier that the Rams likely wouldn’t trade Akers within the conference because there is only one team that has no real chance at the postseason, and that team is the Carolina Panthers. With their head coach fired and the top three quarterbacks all injured, the 2022 Panthers are going nowhere fast. They’re likely to engage in a fire sale, and Christian McCaffrey is one of the most likely players to be traded. With Akers on his way out in Los Angeles, McCaffrey would be a perfect fit for that offense and Carolina can shed his massive salary and probably get a decent draft pick in addition to Akers’ services.
