Cowboys Can Relate To Rams' Misery of Cam Akers Injury

Before the First Snap of Training Camp, L.A.'s Star Running Back Is Out For the Season With a Torn Achilles

If not for a dramatic nexus of a preseason injury, Dak Prescott might not be, well, Dak Prescott.

When quarterback Tony Romo scrambled, landed awkwardly and suffered a broken bone in his back during a preseason game in Seattle in 2016, it immediately and permanently altered the path of America's Team. With Romo sidelined, the fourth-round rookie from Mississippi State ditched his clipboard, went 13-3 as a starter, led Dallas to the NFC East championship and never looked back.

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After the season, Romo retired. Prescott is now the highest-paid player in Cowboys' history.

Not that the Los Angeles Rams can count on such a positive silver lining in the wake of star running back Cam Akers' season-ending Achilles injury, but almost every team in the league can relate to having their grand plans re-routed even before the first snap of the season.

Akers, a shifty scatback drafted in the second round out of Florida State in 2020, was expected to be the focal point of the Rams' running game again this season after his breakout rookie campaign when he averaged 113 yards over the final seven games. In 13 games, Akers was the Rams' leading rusher with 625 yards and two touchdowns on 145 carries. He also caught 11 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown.

But now, before commencing training camp, the Rams are scrambling for a No. 1 running back.

In the past the Cowboys experienced similar trauma with Romo and in 1979 when All-Pro safety Charlie Waters tore his ACL in a preseason game at Seattle and missed the season. Last season on the first day of camp, newly-signed defensive tackle Gerald McCoy ruptured his quad, missed the season and has likely played his last down in the NFL.

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Teams around the league are also already negotiating running back injuries, including the San Francisco 49ers and Jeff Wilson (potentially out until Week 7 after knee surgery) and the New York Giants and Saquon Barkley (still recovering from last season's torn ACL with no definite timetable for a return).

This type of early injury isn't new to the Rams organization. In a 1999 preseason game against the Chicago Bears, starting quarterback Trent Green was sacked and suffered torn knee ligaments.

His replacement? Fellow named Kurt Warner.