Seahawks Re-enforce the Backfield with Practice Squad Elevations

With Zach Charbonnet out for this upcoming game (and the foreseeable future), the Seahawks are going to make sure they will not be lacking running backs in his absence.

On Saturday afternoon, the Seahawks announced their two practice squad elevations leading up to the NFC Championship game, and both of them are running backs. Velus Jones Jr and Cam Akers will be available (assuming neither is placed on the inactive list tomorrow) behind Ken Walker III and George Holani.

Velus Jones was active for the Seahawks against the San Francisco 49ers, earning significant playing time due to the game turning into a blowout, taking six carries for ten yards. Jones also offers some flexibility as a wide receiver and special team returner in the event of an emergency at either of those two positions.

Cam Akers has been active for the Seahawks a few times this year, but has yet to touch the ball and has only played one offensive snap. An experienced running back, with over 2,000 rushing yards in his NFL career, Akers spent most of his career to this point with the team he’ll be going against tomorrow, including winning Super Bowl LVI with them.

The moves make plenty of sense, as the Seahawks are a run-heavy team and their current backup hasn’t played in about two months due to a hamstring injury. Giving themselves multiple options seems valuable, and with the rest of the team looking quite healthy and ready to go, you may as well stack some players here.

Don’t be surprised if you also see some creative wrinkles from the offense in the absence of Charbonnet, such as Jaxon Smith-Njigba or Rashid Shaheed lining up in the backfield for a few snaps.

As for the Los Angeles Rams, they have made their elevations as well. DL Larrell Murchison is the first, a former Tennessee Titans who joined the Rams in 2022 and made a quality impression on them, sticking around on the roster. Murchison was active for the first sixteen games of the Rams’ season, and now returns after a few games off.

This elevation also makes a ton of sense, as DE Byron Young barely practiced this week, and while it’s expected that he’ll play, what he’ll be able to do is less clear. Murchison is a significantly larger lineman than Young, but is often aligned as an oversized end when he’s played this year (which is minimally).

They also pulled LB Elias Neal up, a special teamer who has played in three games this year without seeing a snap on defense.

Both teams probably hope that none of their practice squad callups play a significant role tomorrow, as that would probably indicate a series of injuries have happened, but injuries are a possibility that every team must be prepared for.

The Rams need a little bit more insurance for Byron Young. — Los Angeles Rams defensive end Larrell Murchison (52) against the Arizona Cardinals. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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