Countdown to Camp is a series breaking down the Rams roster by position group heading into training camp. The fifth installment examines the running backs.
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In some form or fashion, each running back currently on the Rams roster has plenty of motivation heading into the 2022 season.
Cam Akers said so for himself during the offseason program, dissatisfied with his performance across the five games he played upon returning from a torn Achilles in less than six months.
Darrell Henderson Jr. will likely be just as motivated to produce too, having missed four of the Rams' final six regular season games due to injury, plus their first three playoff games (though he did return for the Super Bowl). Prior to the injury, he posted 149 carries for 688 yards and five touchdowns, plus 29 receptions for 176 yards and three touchdowns.
Knowing Jake Funk's work ethic, he likely wants to do more than just contribute on special teams in Year 2 after primarily having that role as a rookie.
Raymond Calais and Xavier Jones will be driven by their 2021 seasons ending prematurely due to preseason injuries.
They also drafted former Notre Dame standout Kyren Williams in the fifth round, who broke his foot during the offseason program but is expected to return in the early parts of training camp, according to Rams head coach Sean McVay. Los Angeles also signed A.J. Rose on June 15, just under a week after minicamp ended.
Meanwhile, the group will be led by a new position coach in Rashaad Samples, who replaced Thomas Brown after Brown shifted over to coaching tight ends while remaining assistant head coach.
Each player has something to prove and will be worth watching closely during training camp.
Take a look through the best photos of Los Angeles Rams running backs from the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Arizona Cardinals in the Wild Card round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Arizona Cardinals in the Wild Card round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Arizona Cardinals in the Wild Card round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the San Francisco 49ers during Week 18 of the 2021 regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams host the Las Vegas Raiders for a joint preseason practice at Cal Lutheran University
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Divisional round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Minnesota Vikings in Week 16 of the 2021 regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Indiniapolis Colts in Week 2 of the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Arizona Cardinals in the Wild Card round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Divisional round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Tampa Bay Bucceneers in Week 3 of the 2021 season. The Los Angeles Rams take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3 of the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3 of the 2021 season
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Divisional round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the San Francisco 49ers in Week 18 of the 2021 regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Arizona Cardinals in the Wild Card round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams took on the Ten nessee Titans during Week 9 of the 2021 season.
Running back (23) Cam Akers of the Los Angeles Rams runs the ball against the Cincinnati Bengals during Super Bowl LVI, February 13, 2022, in Inglewood, CA. The Rams won 23-20. (Jeff Lewis/LA Rams)
The Los Angeles Rams took on the Detroit Lions in Week 7 of the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Arizona Cardinals in the Wild Card round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams took on the Detroit Lions in Week 7 of the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4 of the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams hit the practice field to prepare for the Week 4 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals.
Running back (34) Jake Funk of the Los Angeles Rams celebrates holding the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 to win Super Bowl LVI and become NFL champions, February 13, 2022, in Inglewood, CA. (Jeff Lewis/LA Rams)
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Divisional round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
Running back (27) Darrell Henderson Jr. of the Los Angeles Rams warms up before playing against the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI, February 13, 2022, in Inglewood, CA. (Jeff Lewis/LA Rams)
The Los Angeles Rams take on the New York Giants in Week 6 of the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
Running back (38) Buddy Howell of the Los Angeles Rams warms up before playing against the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI, February 13, 2022, in Inglewood, CA. (Jeff Lewis/LA Rams)
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Indiniapolis Colts in Week 2 of the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Green Bay Packers during Week 12 of the 2021 regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams took on the Houston Texans in Week 8 of the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Indiniapolis Colts in Week 2 of the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Minnesota Vikings during Week 16 of the 2021 regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams took on the Houston Texans in Week 8 of the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams took on the Houston Texans in Week 8 of the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the New York Giants in Week 6 of the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams took on the Houston Texans in Week 8 of the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams took on the San Francisco 49ers in Week 10 of the 2021 regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Arizona Cardinals in the Wild Card round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the New York Giants in Week 6 of the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football during Week 5 of the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams took on the Houston Texans in Week 8 of the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Baltimore Ravens during Week 17 of the 2021 regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Baltimore Ravens during Week 17 of the 2021 regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams take the practice field in preparation for Week 3 against the Buccaneers.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Divisional round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3 of the 2021 season
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams hit the practice field ahead of their Week 6 matchup with the New York Giants.
The Los Angeles Rams hit the practice field in preperation of the Week 8 matchup against the Houston Texans.
Running back (25) Sony Michel of the Los Angeles Rams runs the ball against the San Francisco 49ers during an NFL game, Sunday, January 9, 2022, in Inglewood, CA. (Jeff Lewis/LA Rams)
The Los Angeles Rams took on the Houston Texans in Week 8 of the 2021 season.
Running back (25) Sony Michel of the Los Angeles Rams runs the ball against the San Francisco 49ers during an NFL game, Sunday, January 9, 2022, in Inglewood, CA. (Jeff Lewis/LA Rams)
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Minnesota Vikings in Week 16 of the 2021 regular season.
Quarterback (9) Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams hands the ball off against the San Francisco 49ers during the NFC Championship Game, Sunday, January 30, 2022, in Inglewood, CA. The Rams won 20-17. (Jeff Lewis/LA Rams)
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Minnesota Vikings during Week 16 of the 2021 regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Minnesota Vikings during Week 16 of the 2021 regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Baltimore Ravens during Week 17 of the 2021 regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football during Week 5 of the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Arizona Cardinals during Week 14 of the 2021 regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Seattle Seahawks in Week 15 of the 2021 regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Seattle Seahawks in Week 15 of the 2021 regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the New York Giants in Week 6 of the 2021 season.
Running back (30) Raymond Calais of the Los Angeles Rams returns a kickoff against the Los Angeles Chargers during the Rams 6-13 loss to the Chargers in an NFL preseason game, Saturday, August 14, 2021, in Inglewood, Calif. (Jeff Lewis/LA Rams)
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Jacksonville Jaguars during Week 13 of the 2021 regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Seattle Seahawks in Week 15 of the 2021 regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Baltimore Ravens during Week 17 of the 2021 regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams take the practice field in preparation for Week 3 against the Buccaneers.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4 of the 2021 season.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Arizona Cardinals during Week 14 of the 2021 regular season.
The Los Angeles Rams take the practice field in preparation for Week 3 against the Buccaneers.
The Los Angeles Rams take the practice field in preparation for Week 3 against the Buccaneers.
The Los Angeles Rams hit the practice field ahead of their Week 6 matchup with the New York Giants.
The Los Angeles Rams take the practice field in preparation for Week 3 against the Buccaneers.
The Los Angeles Rams hit the practice field ahead of their Week 6 matchup with the New York Giants.
The Los Angeles Rams host the Las Vegas Raiders for a joint preseason practice at Cal Lutheran University
The Los Angeles Rams hit the practice field ahead of their Week 6 matchup with the New York Giants.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
