Getty Sean McVay during the Week 6 Panthers win on October 16, 2022.
While Brandin Cooks has had his name attached as a potential possibility for a Los Angeles Rams reunion if he were to be released, plus while Odell Beckham Jr. continues to be a hot topic free agent with his possible return still up in the air, one more past Rams standout is searching for a home.
And a team in need of wide receiver help, let alone any kind of offensive spark during their disappointing start, gave this past Ram a tryout.
2017 All-Pro Tried Out for AFC West Team: Report
Per the league’s transaction wire on Thursday, November 3, the Las Vegas Raiders hosted Pharoh Cooper for a tryout.
If the name rings a bell for the “Rams House,” it’s because Cooper was a 2017 All-Pro with the Rams during Sean McVay‘s first season at the helm.
That season, Cooper made his mark as a dynamic return man — racking up 932 kickoff return yards and averaging 27.4 yards per kick return — which led the NFL that year. Him and Dion Lewis also delivered the longest kick returns that season at 103 yards.
And that long scamper marks the last time the Rams have delivered a special teams touchdown.
The Rams last met the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2017, where Pharoh Cooper @KingTutt_chdown started off the game with a 103 yard kickoff return for a touchdown! The Rams have not had a special teams return for a touchdown ever since
He also delivered this punt return against the Seattle Seahawks that season.
Cooper, however, was placed on injured reserve following an ankle injury in Week 1 of the 2018 season. He was eventually released on December 18, 2018.
Cooper has since bounced around between the Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals and most recently the New York Giants.
The 5-foot-11, 208-pounder is mostly known as a return man. However, the Raiders have dealt with an inconsistent offense during their 2-5 start — which likely points to the reasoning behind the tryout. And, like the Rams, the Raiders haven’t had a return touchdown in awhile…2011 to be exact.
Cam Akers Returning to Practice: Report
Meanwhile at the “Rams House,” Cam Akers and the Rams appear to be in the process of working together once again — with Akers set to return to practice.
Reported in the morning hours of Thursday by CBS Sports NFL insider Josina Anderson, the 2020 second rounder who had missed the last two Rams games due to personal issues is in the process of returning to the field in Thousand Oaks.
“With both sides deliberating after the trade deadline to clarify utilization, RB Cam Akers has decided to return to Rams practice today, per league source,” Anderson posted at 8:39 a.m. Eastern Thursday.
On Wednesday before practice, McVay addressed the media stating that he and the disgruntled running back had been in conversations with each other about how to move forward. McVay told the L.A. media that not only was Akers involved in the conversation, but so was the running back’s agent David Mulugeta.
“After we had that conversation, we got a couple different things that are some options that we can potentially do moving forward. And we’ll have clarity on that as far as getting him back and working with this group or if that means exploring other avenues,” McVay said. “But I want to be able to explore that first one first, let him kind of be able to digest some of the things that we’ve discussed, work with that with his family and obviously David Mulugeta (his agent) and we’ll see what the next step is.”
McVay added how “there’s a lot of belief in the human being and the player Cam Akers based on the experiences.”