THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Los Angeles Rams running backs Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson are not practicing while they deal with soft-tissue injuries, coach Sean McVay said Monday.
McVay said the team is “just being smart” with the pair and wants to wait until they’re able to be out on the field without restrictions before they practice again. He said he didn’t have a timeline for either player’s return to practice, saying, “it could be anywhere between two days, one day, a week.”
“[With] soft-tissue things, it’s always a difficult thing because you don’t want to ever push somebody,” McVay said. “And that’s where they’ve got to do a good job of communicating to us. … And so the first goal for those guys is let’s check the box on them feeling like they can really open up, no restrictions. I don’t know if you ever really feel great at any point moving forward, especially at running back, but we want to be smart with that.”
McVay said he doesn’t want to have either running back on the field while they’re only at 50% or so because that isn’t helping the team get better.
“When we go, we’ve got to practice full speed,” McVay said. “We can’t just get out there and be three-quarters and tempo it. That’s not how we get better.”
The Rams got rookie running back Kyren Williams back from the physically unable to perform list just last week. Williams, a fifth-round pick, broke his foot during the team’s offseason program.
“You want those guys out here, but it’s allowing Kyren Williams to get reps, and Jake Funk, that they wouldn’t get otherwise,” McVay said.
Williams did not play in the Rams’ preseason opener against the Los Angeles Chargers. Funk, who played primarily on special teams last season, had six carries for 16 yards in the game.
Source: www.espn.com