Benched Rams RB Cam Akers the topic of trade talks

Admittedly, Williams had a better performance in the season-opening win and appeared to have become McVay’s go-to fullback after scoring twice in Los Angeles’ surprise season-opening victory. The preference shouldn’t matter, not in a league where running back committees are so angry, but it seemed to have enough of an impact to lead McVay to make Akers inactive on Sunday.

Without Akers, Williams was similarly productive, but he didn’t have a very positive day on Sunday, gaining 52 yards and scoring a rushing score on 14 attempts. He was the only one back to score a quick try in the Week 2 defeat.

“It’s different. It’s more that I’m always going to make decisions that are in the best interest of our football team,” McVay said. “I have a lot of respect for Cam Akers, but I felt the same way about our football team today and in this game and as we move forward, this was the best decision for us.”

It doesn’t take a PhD in psychology to read between the lines here: Akers is likely unhappy with his role in the Rams’ offense, and McVay isn’t interested in acquiescing.

Akers became similarly dissatisfied in 2022, walking away from the team for several weeks with the expectation that he would be dealt by the trade deadline. When that didn’t happen, he and the Rams found a way to work together again, which led to some of the best games of his career.

This time, it seems as if McVay doesn’t have much patience for Akers’ discontent.

“I think there will be an opportunity to see what it looks like moving forward, but it won’t be mutual,” McVay said. “He and I had a great conversation, and we’ll see what happens over the next couple of days.”

In two weeks, the 2023 Ram has proven to be an impressive group. They were not expected to compete for the first time since the middle of the last decade. McVay is operating in a new space, no longer burdened by the pressures of needing instant success, and the results have indicated that McVay will operate without concern for star power.

Take the receiving corps, which is currently headlined by Puka Nakoa and Tutu Atwell with Cooper Kupp on injured reserve. The former has a team-high 25 catches for 266 yards through two games, while the latter is finally starting to deliver for the second-round pick Los Angeles spent on in 2021.

McVay doesn’t need to keep his superstars happy. He is free to try to win with whoever he sees as the best option. As of now, that option is Williams. We’ll see if Akers ends up finding a better opportunity elsewhere via trade, or works with the Rams to settle their differences again for the second year in a row.

Based on the phrase “the next couple of days”, it seems that the opportunity to find common ground will not last long this time.