LOS ANGELES — Cam Akers still might have a future with the Rams.
Coach Sean McVay said Wednesday that he met with the running back and spoke with his agent about options for Akers, who has not practiced or played in the last two games because of what McVay has described as an internal issue.
"We're working through a couple different options," McVay said, "but I was very encouraged with the dialogue we had."
McVay said there was "a possibility" that Akers could practice with the team as it prepares for Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Fla.
"I don't want to put the cart before the horse," McVay said when asked if Akers could play against the Buccaneers, "but we're working through some different things."
McVay said that could mean "exploring other avenues" which would include releasing Akers.
"But … first let him be able to digest some of the things that we discussed, work through that with his family and obviously [agent] David Mulugheta and then we'll see what's the next step," McVay said.
The Rams tried to trade Akers, but Tuesday's deadline came and went without a deal.
Akers expressed a desire to be part of the Rams, McVay said. The conversation, McVay added, offered opportunity to self-reflect.
"You can be honest about what you could do differently, talking about myself, some of the expectations," he said. "There's a lot of confidence, there's a lot of belief in the human being and the player Cam Akers, based on the experiences.
"And you don't want to jump to conclusions just based on a couple things that nobody was necessarily at fault, but it could have been handled better."
Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown are other running backs on the roster. Ronnie Rivers was activated from the practice squad for the last two games against the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers.
Rookie Kyren Williams was designated to return from injured reserve last week but was not activated against the 49ers.
The Rams typically worked deals near the trade deadline in years past, moves that brought them players such as edge rusher Dante Fowler, cornerback Jalen Ramsey and linebacker Von Miller.
But they made no deals this year.
"Just because we've done that the last couple years, that doesn't mean that it's standard operating procedure for us," McVay said. "It's got to be able to have the right fit for us."
Discussions took place with other teams, but deals were not consummated for a variety of reasons, he said.
"It's got to be the right fit, it's got to be the right player," McVay said, adding, "In some instances, you're looking at it and you might not necessarily have the compensation that they're looking for in return. Or we felt like it didn't necessarily fit."
