The Los Angeles Rams suffered a major blow with running back Cam Akers ruled out for the 2021 NFL season after tearing his Achilles. This has thrust backup Darrell Henderson into becoming the de facto workhorse of this revamped offense.
With no other experienced options on the depth chart, Henderson has become an integral piece for head coach Sean McVay. After all, this team cannot experience any more major setbacks if they hope to get things started on the right foot this season.
The Rams suffered a major scare at practice after Henderson hurt his hand while running into a teammate during a live team period. Although he was forced to go back to the locker room, he was still able to make his return to the field and finish off the session.
McVay revealed that the team was simply taking precautions on Henderson, via Cameron DaSilva of USA Today:
“Darrell Henderson, he ended up coming back in,” McVay said. “He got his hand just kind of hit in the middle of practice, so he was just getting that checked out and he ended up finishing and doing a couple things.”
The fact that Henderson was able to make his return is certainly a positive sign for the Rams. After all, the team has done what it can to ramp up its safety measures in order to limit the risk of injury to players.
L.A. already dodged a major bullet after quarterback Matthew Stafford suffered a thumb injury during a pass attempt. This spurred McVay to put padded helmets on the offensive and defensive linemen moving forward.
McVay also wasted no time in declaring that Henderson will not be taking part in any preseason games due to his status as the only proven option in the backfield. Unfortunately, it is clear that there are only so many precautions a coach can take.
With the caution tape around Henderson, the onus will fall on the new crop of reserve running backs to step up as potential complementary options in the backfield. Running backs Jake Funk and Xavier Jones have seemingly emerged as the top two candidates so far with strong performances in training camp.
