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Proposed Rams Trade Swaps Redemption-Seeking Rushers

Cam Akers is in need of a reset after a promising career with the Los Angeles Rams has been derailed. Could another rushing sensation gone sour be headed LA's way?

Could a pair of once-promising NFL rushers find their salvation through each other? 

That's what a proposed trade from Sportskeeda appears to think, suggesting that a pair of recent Super Bowl champions come together to help each other get out of dire rushing issues. 

The Los Angeles Rams, defending hoisters of the Lombardi Trophy, are pondering the future of Cam Akers, whose personal issues have reached "uncharted territory" according to head coach Sean McVay. With the likelihood of his Rams career ending increasing each day he's not with the team, this hypothetical trade swaps one rushing reclamation project for another, as the Rams would obtain Clyde Edwards-Helaire from the Kansas City Chiefs. 

No picks, no conditions, and no further questions.

"Edwards-Helaire has a couple of solid traits that are beneficial to a top-tier offense. However, it's telling of Andy Reid's trust in him that he isn't fed more often," proposer Nick Igbokwe writes. To his point, Edwards-Helaire, Kansas City's touted first-round choice that closed out the 2020 draft's opening stanza, has had less than 10 carries in all but one of his six games this season. A fair amount of hype lingered upon his professional entry but he has struggled to gain any traction, averaging no more than 4.4 yards per carry over his first two-plus campaigns. 

As for Akers, he'd be poised to add something that's been surprisingly missing from the Chiefs' recent success.

"Cam Akers, the Los Angeles Rams running back, brings a few perks in his stride. He is stout, strong, and versatile and has a tough streak about him," Igbokwe says. "He would add some bite to a Chiefs' locker room presently lacking some much-needed grit."

Both Akers and Edwards-Helaire have had flashes of NFL brilliance but have struggled to be consistent sources of yardage in their respective locales. Perhaps a jolt that wouldn't lessen either player's chances of contending for a second ring would be just the thing each needed to reclaim the narratives on their respective careers. 

Los Angeles (3-3) is off this weekend but returns to action on Oct. 30 against the San Francisco 49ers (1:25 p.m. PT, Fox). 


Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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