How Sean McVay Explained Healthy Scratch Of Rams’ Cam Akers

Cam Akers appears to be nearing the end of his tenure with the Los Angeles Rams.

Akers, who requested to be traded last season, was a healthy scratch in LA’s contest against the San Francisco 49ers at SoFi Stadium on Sunday. After the Rams were dealt a 30-23 loss to the Niners, head coach Sean McVay called it a “coach’s decision.”

“Coach’s decision, felt like that was best for our football team,” McVay told reporters, per the team. “Felt like Kyren (Williams) gave us the best opportunity and what Ronnie (Rivers) and Royce (Freeman) have done, so that was a decision I made.”

Shortly before the 4 p.m. ET kickoff, Akers found himself back in trade speculation given his Week 2 designation. FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer reported that Akers is now believed to be on the trade block.

McVay, however, would not go that far in his assessment. Instead, McVay said the Rams will have to see how it plays out over the next few days.

“No, this is different (than last season),” McVay said, referencing Akers’ prior trade request and absence from the team. “I’m always going to make decisions that I think are in the best interest of our football team. I have tremendous respect for Cam Akers, but I felt like for our football team today and in this game, and as we move forward, that was going to be the best decision for us.”

McVay added: “I think there’s going to be an opportunity to see what that looks like going forward, but it’s not going to be a back and forth thing. He and I have had great dialogue and we’ll see what happens over the next couple days.”

The 24-year-old Akers, who was a second-round pick by the Rams in 2020, enters his final season under contract. LA could be without Akers when it travels to the Cincinnati Bengals for a Week 3 showdown on “Monday Night Football.”