Rams RB depth chart: Who moves up with Cam Akers going down?

Akers suffered a torn Achilles on Monday

The LA Rams received devastating news this week: running back Cam Akers will be out for the entire season with a ruptured Achilles tendon that was suffered on Monday and reported on Tuesday morning. The injury means a long road to recovery for Akers and a short trip to the next guy on the depth chart for the Rams. Akers may not start a game for Los Angeles for a long time yet, but somebody is going to have to do it in Week 1.

From Monday: The running backs situation for all four NFC West teams

After they’ve been through a string of running back injuries in the last few years, the Rams will also have to keep a close eye on those who just became the main backups to the new starter as well.

It may not be long before any of these guys are forced to start a game at running back for the LA Rams. Not satisfied with this list? We also identified 16 backup running backs in the AFC who might be available on the market if Les Snead decides to pick up the phone.

Darrell Henderson

Age: 24

Career: 177 carries, 771 yards, 4.4 YPC, 5 TD, 20 rec, 196 yards, 1 TD, 0 fumbles

Henderson is now the only running back on the roster who has any real NFL experience under his belt. A third round pick in 2019, the team hoped he could be an heir to Todd Gurley following his own set of injuries, but that never came to fruition. Henderson had an injury setback before Week 1 of last year, leading to Akers and Malcolm Brown getting a heavier workload. He then saw more playing time and rushed for 195 yards in Weeks 2 and 3 combined but he then fell out of favor and only had a couple more games where he contributed much.

Henderson finished the 2020 season on injured reserve. He now becomes the de facto number one but I think training camp will be an opportunity for another player to step up and start at running back for the Rams. Whether he’s on the roster already or not, there should be competition for Henderson.

Xavier Jones

Age: 24

Jones has more career tackles (3) and kick returns (1) than he does career rushing attempts or offensive snaps (0). He was an undrafted free agent out of SMU in 2020, rushing for 1,276 yards and 23 touchdowns as a senior in 2019. Jones did deal with some injuries in college, requiring missed time.

Raymond Calais

Age: 23

Calais rushed for 886 yards on 117 carries during his final college season at Louisiana. He was a seventh round pick of the Buccaneers in 2020, then waived and picked up by LA. He has zero career offensive snaps and is expected to be more of a kickoff return specialist.

Jake Funk

Age: 23

Injuries were a major part of Funk’s identity at Maryland, where he suffered a torn ACL to each of his knees. He barely saw the field for the first four years of his college career, then had 60 attempts for 516 yards (8.6 YPC) as a fifth year senior. He was a seventh round pick of the Rams this year.

Otis Anderson

Age: 22

Finally, Anderson was an undrafted free agent pickup out of UCF this year. His career high was 726 rushing yards on 113 carries during his junior season in 2019. Last year, Anderson had 125 carries for 687 yards.