Cam Akers lowered his left shoulder Saturday afternoon, delivering a powerful hit stick boom as he bounced outside on a sideline run that sent Los Angeles Rams defensive back Jason Taylor flailing through the air.
Akers paused for a moment after the play as if to let Taylor know where things stood once he got back on his feet after being sent roughly to the ground.
“Just big boy football, you know what I mean?” Akers said. “Going out and making a play. JV. Varsity. I’m varsity.”
The Texans’ multidimensional running back continues to prove in his point in a resurgent comeback from a pair of torn Achilles tendons, serving notice that he’s back and has regained his old playing form. He rushed for a team-high 53 yards on seven carries and caught three passes for 19 yards on four targets for 72 yards of total offense.
Arguably, Akers’ most eye-catching play looked like a video game sequence only it was real. Akers took a handoff and put the Rams’ defense in the spin cycle as he spun around three Rams to pick up a first down. Three consecutive spin moves, including twice around befuddled linebackers Zack VanValkenburg and Elias Neal and defensive back Tre Tomlinson, got the job done.
“I feel good,” Akers said. “I feel like I showed people I’m still who I am. I haven’t lost a step and we’ll just see how it goes.”
Akers finished the preseason with 114 rushing yards on 23 carries and caught eight passes for 61 yards with one touchdown.
Signed to a one-year minimum contract after a successful workout in July, the Mississippi native and former top-ranked high school running back in the nation is making the Texans’ decision on roster moves a difficult one.
“Cam has done a really nice job since we got him late in training camp,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “He’s stepped in, and he’s done a really nice job. Everyone sees when he gets the ball in his hands in the games, he’s able to make defenders miss and able to continue to press forward and make plays.
“It’s exciting, and it’s tough. I love that it’s tough to make these decisions because that means you have a good football team. When it’s not just set, you still have decisions to make, that’s how it should be.”
The Texans’ versatile running back took a handoff in the backfield from quarterback Tim Boyle against the New York Giants, running toward his left and encountering a stacked line of scrimmage. Instead of just bulling ahead and conceding that the play was doomed from the start, Akers had altogether different plans. He adeptly cut back against the grain away from pursuit, to his right, turning his body parallel to the line at one point while eluding defenders.
“Just going out and Setting it up as much as I can,” Akers said. “I read my block. Trusting a play, making a play. Really, what it comes down to for me is being familiar with the tempo I just want to play well.”
Before Akers even joined the Texans, he was in Houston training with elite trainer Justin Allen. He was already purchasing a home because he wanted to live in this area.
“I was already buying a house before I got the call to go to work,” Akers said. “It feels like home.”
Working behind Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon, Akers has made it a point to learn from him. Now that he’s shown what he can do, it’s out of his hands and up to the coaching staff to make a decision. He would love to keep playing here.
“I leave it in God’s hands,” Akers said. “Just tell me where to go to work. The camaraderie, the culture, it’s winning culture here. You got everybody from top to bottom, everybody wants to win. Everybody has got one common goal, so it’s easy to fall in line.”
Deeply spiritual, the former Florida State blue-chip recruit and Rams second-round draft pick attributes his remarkable comeback to his faith and hard work.
“Give all the credit to the good Lord above, you know what I mean?” Akers said. “For allowing me to have a strong mind and a strong support system to be able to come back. It’s a small group to come back from that, and I’m happy to be a part of that group.”
Akers joined the Texans, whose running back position is headlined by Mixon, after considering rejoining the Vikings. The idea of playing for the Texans appealed to Akers greatly. The Mississippi native was already in town training with NFL and NBA elite trainer Justin Allen and was in the process of purchasing a home.
“I was here already, so it was like divine destiny, God’s plan,” Akers said. “So, I’m happy to be here. Hopefully, I can make it stretch.”
Whether it was his touchdown catch against the Bears on another crisp spin move in that contest or his consistent elusiveness and acceleration, Akers keeps serving notice about his skills.
Photo: Tim Warner / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
“He already kind of came nice,” Texans Pro Bowl quarterback C.J. Stroud said. “He’s been playing at a high level since I can remember watching him in college. So, it’s nothing that he changed. I think he’s a little more focused now and just knows what he needs to do to get on the team.
“He’s been working from there. His foundational work, I think, has been great in this offense. He’s been in this type of style. He’s going to continue to do great, and I’m really loving his game and how patient he is, but he hits the hole. He’s a great back.”
Akers transformed a broken play into a spin cycle against Chicago, and perhaps changed the routine narrative about what he’s capable of doing on the football field after a pair of torn Achilles tendons.
What he’s accomplishing is unique.
“Oh man, it’s one of the most difficult things to do for any athlete,” Allen said. “Cam’s resilience, mental stability and hunger and love for the game just takes him over the top. It helps him push through and tap into another mode and be the same player we all know. I saw how detailed he was. He was a pro’s pro. He always came in early and did all the small things.
“I’m not surprised. Everything he said he was going to do, he’s doing. He had the ultimate confidence in himself. It’s an amazing thing to see. One of the first things that happens when an athlete gets hurt is that can go away, that confidence, but he came in my gym with the ultimate confidence and it shows every game.”
Akers’ 15-yard run against the Giants showed an innate understanding of spacing and how to use defenders’ zeal to chase him down against him.
It hearkened back to his high school days as a dual-threat quarterback in Mississippi.
“It definitely helped,” he said. “Being able to identify defenses, identify coverages, stack safeties. I think it slowed the game down for me, which, in this league, is important. Being able to slow the game down and just play and not worry about messing up. I get an idea based on alignment, based off film.”
Akers delivered a nifty spin move in the open field to elude pursuit and pull off a 14-yard reception on a broken play salvaged by him and Cae Keenum. Three plays later, Akers got open for a four-yard touchdown catch.
How Akers, a former standout on the Rams’ Super Bowl championship team and a former Florida State standout, maintained his determination to come back after two devastating injuries is a remarkable example of perseverance.
“I would say knowing who I am, knowing what God has blessed me to do and not settling,” Akers said. “I don’t want that to be my story: ‘Injury, and he didn’t come out.’ I want to come back and show who I am still. I didn’t want that to be my story.
“I’ve been doing that since I’ve been training with these guys in training camp, reminding myself, ‘You’re still you, you still have the same abilities after two Achilles injuries.’ I think it showed. It came full circle, and I want to keep going. I don’t want it to be a one-time thing. I want to keep working and work my way back and keep making plays.”
Akers generated 29 yards from scrimmage on a nine-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. He rushed for 13 yards on five carries and caught two passes for 18 yards. He’s emerged as a definite factor in the Texans’ competition behind Mixon and has pushed backup Dameon Pierce.
“I think it’s easy to see his talent in these preseason games,” Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said. “He’s made plays. He’s made people miss in space. He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do.”
Akers liked the winning culture the Texans are building under Demeco Ryans’ leadership.
“The opportunity was like no other, the team is like no other,” Akers said. “I would say it’s a super team and whatever way I can work my way into a role here. It’s a super team. Everything is already in place. We’ve got the coaches. We’ve got the players, got the quarterback and the receivers and the defense. What don’t you have here? Running back, we got Joe. Everything is here. I just want to play my part.
“The first time I walked in the door, it was a winning culture. I feel like I was just walking into a winning team. I just want to keep it going and do my part to keep us winning, whether it’s motivate, make plays, whatever I got to do. I just want to be that guy.”
Akers, 25, is a 5-foot-10, 217-pound runner who has rushed for 1,581 career yards, four yards per carry with 11 touchdowns and 38 catches for 320 yards and one touchdown.
In 2022 for the Rams, he rushed for 786 yards and a career-high nine touchdowns as he averaged 4.2 yards per carry. He has just three career fumbles.
“You can see that he has some experience in this kind of an offense with the outside zone stuff and he’s seeing it well,” Texans tight end Dalton Schultz said. “It’s crazy to think through all the stuff that he’s gone through and he’s still able to ball like that. It’s fun man. It’s fun to watch him run and he’s a great teammate, great guy, smart player. I think having that in the room is good for us.”
Akers was traded to the Vikings for a sixth-round draft pick last year, rushing for 40 yards on five carries and catching two passes for 11 yards in his debut against the Carolina Panthers. He got hurt against the Falcons, tearing his Achilles, and was placed on injured reserve.
Akers signed a standard one-year, $1.175 million contract. He just wanted an opportunity, and he got what he was hoping for.
He just wanted a chance and now he has an excellent opportunity to make the 53-man roster.
“Absolutely, I don’t think twice about roster cuts,” he said. “I just go out and put the best display of myself that I can on the field, that I can put on film.
Aaron Wilson is a contributor to Sports Talk 790.