The Rams were unable to trade running back Cam Akers before Tuesday’s deadline, opting to hold onto him – for now. Akers is reportedly unhappy and would still like a resolution to the situation, believing he shouldn’t play again for the Rams in 2022.
With a trade off the table, there’s really only one other way for the Rams to grant his wish: by releasing him. The Rams would’ve preferred to trade him and get something in return, but it doesn’t seem there were any takers.
So Los Angeles does end up releasing him this season, what would be the financial impact in 2022 and 2023? Because he has no guaranteed money left on his contract, the Rams wouldn’t have to take on any dead money and would save more than $2 million total, according to Spotrac.
None of Cam Akers' remaining contract is guaranteed.
The #Rams can cut him loose and save $650k of salary this year, and another $1.45M next year. https://t.co/tzqMV6n3v1
— Spotrac (@spotrac) November 1, 2022
It’s not that there wasn’t trade interest in running backs before the deadline. Christian McCaffrey, Chase Edmonds, Jeff Wilson, Nyheim Hines and Zack Moss were all traded in the last few weeks, as was James Robinson.
That makes it all the more surprising that Akers wasn’t dealt, even despite the struggles on the field that he’s experienced in Year 3. Sean McVay left the door open for him to play for the Rams again but Akers doesn’t seem interested in that path. He wants out.
