It might be now or never for the former five-star recruit
This could be interesting. The New Orleans Saints are trying out a big-name running back at this week’s mandatory minicamp practices, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. Cam Akers didn’t meet expectations as a former second-round pick with the Los Angeles Rams (out of Florida State), and he struggled to get going last year with the Minnesota Vikings and Houston Texans, so this may be his last opportunity to catch on with a new team and revitalize his career.
It’s not uncommon for teams to bring in free agents for tryouts like this at the start of the summer; the Saints did just that with another running back, David Johnson, a few years back. But Akers still has a lot of tread left on his tires. He’ll turn 26 on June 22 and has only logged 502 carries in his five-year pro career. He’s clearly very talented as a former five-star high school recruit. He just hasn’t been able to put it together in the NFL.
And it might be now or never for him. He’s been traded in each of the last two seasons, from the Rams to the Vikings and from Minnesota to Houston, without ever establishing himself as his new team’s top option. But the Saints don’t need him to do that. They just need to see whether he can be an effective compliment to Alvin Kamara. They brought back guys like Kendre Miller and Clyde Edwards-Helaire while adding rookies Devin Neal and Marcus Yarns to that competition, plus Velus Jones Jr. and Xazavian Valladay. They were in on Nick Chubb before he signed with the Texans, too. Maybe Akers shows them something they’ll like in this extended tryout.