There will be those on the Los Angeles Rams with momentum heading into the 2023 season, following a strong finish to their 2022.
Count Cam Akers as one after delivering career-highs in season three — and doing it after being absent for nearly a month due to personal reasons and being the subject of trade rumblings before the November 1 deadline. Akers, now entering season four, sent his message on how he’ll approach the next season.
“Remain hungry and humble,” Akers posted on Wednesday, January 18 while also acknowledging the time he missed but made up for.
Akers Earned ‘Biggest Surprise’ Label
While Akers earned the title of Rams rushing leader, he also was given this title on Monday, January 16: The “biggest surprise” on the Rams by Pro Football Focus.
Marcus Mosher unveiled PFF’s listing of highest graded players of each team and who busted out a surprise 2022. Mosher wrote how Akers looked more rejuvenated than ever after dealing with the reported tensions between he and the Rams organization.
“It was quite the season for Akers. After a poor performance in Week 1, he was sent to the bench. Then, the team agreed to trade him after his role had diminished. But after no trade suitors popped up, he returned to the field and looked like a different player,” Mosher wrote. “He finished the season as the No. 14 graded running back and looked like his old self in the second half of the year.”
Akers went from delivering zero 100-yard games in his first 12 games to ending with three straight contests in surpassing the century mark, a career-best for him.
Christmas day 2022 versus the Denver Broncos is a prime example of Akers looking like the running back the Rams drafted him for — delivering the hat trick of three touchdowns while rushing for 118 yards.
Have a day, @thereal_cam3!
🎥 23 carries, 118 rushing yards, 3 rushing TDs.
But he also showed his selfless side while combining it with his mean streak on this notable blitz pickup versus the L.A. Chargers on New Year’s Day 2023:
Cam Akers makes what might be the best blitz pick up of the year
And one of his final highlights of the season: This 32-yard scamper against the Seattle Seahawks in the season finale:
32 yards on the ground for Cam Akers 😤
📺: #LARvsSEA on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ t.co/KpypRSpABD
Big 2023 Opportunities Loom for Akers
Now that he has recemented himself as the No. 1 back moving forward, here’s what Akers is facing for the ’23 campaign:
- New offensive coordinator after Liam Coen left to take the same position at the University of Kentucky.
- A brand new offensive line coach teaching the guys up front to create openings for Akers and the running backs.
- The possibility of Thomas Brown, his RB coach for most of his career, leaving for a head coaching gig after earning interviews with teams.
- Akers entering the final season of his rookie deal.
Of this quartet, it’s the latter two that could likely impact Akers the most. Brown, who was among the coaches inside the Rams building praised for helping restart Akers’ career, completed his interview with the Houston Texans on Tuesday, January 17. As for his contract, Akers is entering the final year of his rookie deal from 2020 and is due to have a base salary of $1.4 million per Spotrac.
Akers, though, plans to stay humble and hungry for 2023. And it helps that his head coach Sean McVay said after the Broncos win that the incoming fourth year back is going to be a big part of this team moving forward.
With what he’s done continuing to build on that momentum, I think it’d be silly based on what a great job he’s done to think of it anything differently than him being a big part of what you want to be able to do moving forward,” McVay said. He included, “And hopefully just continue to see him build on it these last couple weeks and into next year for the Rams.”
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Rams’ Cam Akers Sends Message Well Ahead of 2023 Season