THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Rams running back Cam Akers will make his season debut on Sunday against the 49ers, head coach Sean McVay said Wednesday.
"Everybody else was at a jog-through and Cam was full-speed, flying around," McVay said of Akers' participation in Wednesday's practice. "So he's excited, he'll be ready to go. Looking forward to seeing Cam make his debut this week."
Akers tore his Achilles on July 20, then made enough progress to be designated to return to practice a little over five months later on Dec. 23. He was activated to the active roster on Dec. 25. When the Rams resumed a normal practice schedule last week, Akers was listed as a full participant each day, and was also listed as a full participant for Wednesday's jog-through.
What Akers' exact workload looks like is still to be determined. McVay said they "definitely want to be sure to keep (running back) Sony (Michel) rolling," but it's also important for Akers to get his feet wet.
"He sure looks good," McVay said. "He looks like he could carry it, play a lot of plays. But I do think you want to be smart with an incremental approach. Is that 10 snaps? Is that 20? Is that 25? I think that's something that as the week progresses, we'll have a better feel for, but definitely want to get him involved."
Asked if there was a scenario in which Akers would be inactive or not play Sunday, McVay said "not unless there's a setback or change in terms of how he's feeling."
"He continues to progress and he's feeling good," McVay said. "I expect him to be able to play this week."
Rams-49ers at SoFi Stadium kicks off at 1:25 p.m. pacific time on Sunday and will be televised by FOX.
