Sean McVay Reveals What Rams Need to Address at Trade Deadline After 49ers Loss
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The Los Angeles Rams seemed to be headed toward a thrilling and competitive second half on Sunday at SoFi Stadium against the San Francisco 49ers. Revenge seemed well within reach after a 24-9 loss to their NFC West rivals on Oct. 3.
But instead, the Rams were run over by the Christian McCaffrey train and were shut out in the final 30 minutes en route to a 31-14 loss.
Now, the Rams must look to be competitive in the trade market ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline at 2 p.m. PT if they want to give themselves a chance at fixing what has been their most glaring issue this season: the running game.
Against San Francisco, the Rams totaled just 56 rushing yards on 21 attempts with the longest rush going for six yards
And while LA coach Sean McVay said Sunday that the porous Rams' running game -- which is last in the league in attempts (147) and yards (479) while having the second-worst yards per game (68.4) -- isn't due to the lack of production from the running backs, he admitted that the team will keep options open at the deadline.
Said McVay: "We are always looking for ways to upgrade the football team, but we [have] a lot of things that we [have to] be able to address and what that means looking forward, getting into the trade deadline or as we progress, we'll be looking at that over the next couple days.”
The most obvious piece LA will be desperate to move is running back Cam Akers, who seemed destined to be released if the Rams are unable to come to terms on a deal for him. However, ESPN reported that Akers likely won’t be released if the team is unable to trade him.
But Akers out of the picture as of now, running back Darrell Henderson Jr. was seen as a solid veteran presence that could jump in and produce in the starting role much like he did last season. But on Sunday, he had just four carries for 16 yards and two catches for 14 yards.
Of course, he had been dealing with an illness leading up to the Niners game but it's still troubling that in a game the Rams needed to have, practice squad running back Ronnie Rivers out-touched the four-year vet 12 to six.
It's also difficult to put blame on a running back room that has had little room to operate behind a depleted offensive line.
"I mean really, whether it's a running back or whatever it is, you still have to be able to get a hat on a hat and handle movement up front no matter who's running the football," McVay said. "I don't think the run game is exclusively on the running back."
LA is set to welcome back rookie running back Kyren Williams from injured reserve soon. But still, without an offensive snap this season, his impact in the offense could prove to be minimal if Henderson Jr. wasn't able to get going.
Any sort of answer would be better than what the Rams have going right now. And headed into a road matchup on Sunday with a furious Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that is stumbling through a three-game losing streak, LA will once again be faced with a test that the team has hardly proved capable of passing this season.
But who knows? The Rams could look a bit different by then, which could be for the greater good of the defending champs' chances at righting the ship in the second half of the season.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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