Rams Trade for Sony Michel: A Way to Solve Cam Akers Issue?

The Los Angeles Rams' victorious past continues to yield potential answers to their plethora of problems.

A Los Angeles Rams reunion with Odell Beckham Jr. doesn't appear to be in the cards, at least for the time being. Another ghost of Southern California football past, however, could solve one of the team's newest issues.

Speculation has lingered around current top ground option Cam Akers, who will not play in Sunday's visit from the Carolina Panthers (1:05 p.m. PT, Fox) due to personal reasons that head coach Sean McVay described as "uncharted territory." Time may tell exactly what such a trek entails, but the Rams (2-3) need to solve this issue sooner rather than later: entering Week 6 play, the Rams are dead-last with 312 rushing yards through their first five contests, their average carry of 3.2 besting only Tampa Bay.

ESPN's Bill Barnwell, suggesting a trade for several notable teams, appears to have conjured a solution, turning to the past to assist the Rams' future: the analyst proposes that the Rams turn to their SoFi Stadium roommates, the Los Angeles Chargers, and inquire on the status of Sony Michel. 

Michel, the Rams' leading rusher from last season, switched SoFi locker rooms after the NFC side revamped its running backs room, opting for an Akers-led unit spelled by Darrell Henderson and fifth-round rookie Kyren Williams. Michel previously spent the summer with the Miami Dolphins but was among their final training camp cuts in late August.

"He’s a solid back between the tackles and a player McVay seemed to trust at times last season when he was with the Rams," Barnwell writes of Michel, the Rams' leading rusher with 845 yards after coming over from New England. He hints that Michel may well again fall victim to a rookie's rise, as fourth-round choice Isaiah Spiller may be nearing a return from an ankle injury. He notes that Michel appeared on only two offensive snaps during the Chargers' 30-28 win over Cleveland last week, a stat that becomes particularly damning when factoring in the Bolts' rushing success (238 yards and two scores). 

A trade would simply bring forth the presumed inevitable and allow Los Angeles' AFC group to gain at least something back, even if the Rams wouldn't have to give too much away, with Barnwell proposing a seventh-round choice in 2024. 

"A Rams team that’s built to win now can’t rely on Akers," Barnwell says. "It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Chargers cut Michel when they feel Spiller is ready to play, so this would just be making that move now and getting a late-round pick in the process."

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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