The two-time Super Bowl champion running back Sony Michel announced his retirement at the age of 28 years old after five seasons in the NFL.
The former first-round pick from Georgia back in 2018 won it with the New England Patriots in his rookie year and with Los Angeles Rams in 2021. Playing a pivotal role, especially with the Pats as a rookie in the playoffs, Michel also had short stints with the Miami Dolphins and Los Angeles Chargers in 2022 before landing back with the Rams before his retirement announcement.
Head coach Sean McVay announced the news publicly during a media availability after Saturday’s training camp practice and had a conversation with him before practice Saturday, as Michel informed him of his decision to retire, according to senior Rams staff writer Stu Jackson.
“I thought just being back around him in these last couple of days, you just appreciate the influence that he has, the way that this guy works,” McVay said. “I think when you look at what he’s done going back to Georgia, throughout his rookie year when he broke my heart in ’18 and did a great job in New England, thought he was a hugely instrumental piece for our Super Bowl team a couple of years ago. The epitome of a pro, a great competitor, and his next chapter is going to be exciting. He’s got so many gifts he can offer to people. We’ll wish him the best. It’s a bummer, but his body is feeling like it’s talking to him, and I have nothing but respect and appreciation for the competitor that he is. Love Sony, and we’ll continue to stay in touch.”
To potentially replace his experience and to add size to the position, the Rams signed Royce Freeman, as the 27-year-old started one game and played in three others for the Houston Texans in 2022. This would be his fourth stint with a different team, as the journeyman was drafted in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos.
After starting for them but not keeping the starting job for three seasons, the former Oregon Duck signed with the Carolina Panthers in 2021 (eight games) and then the Texans in 2021 (seven games) to then re-sign in 2022. He was then cut and demoted back to the practice squad for Houston, as he only had 1,473 career rushing yards and nine total touchdowns in his five years in the NFL.
For the Texans last year, Freeman had 117 yards on 41 carries as a spot starter or backup due to injuries.
The backup spot behind starting running back Cam Akers was already up for grabs, but this left a void in the running back room in terms of experience. The 24-year-old has had a tumultuous career with the Rams, especially the last two seasons, with McVay to say the least.
Akers, before the 2021 season, tore his Achilles but then came back sooner than expected five months after sustaining the injury in July. However, the former Florida State Seminole did not look fully healthy, as that team did win the Super Bowl but on the ground, Akers was mostly ineffective.
Drafted in 2020 in the second round of the NFL Draft, Akers started off the 2022 season essentially on the bench after only getting three carries in the Week one opener against the Buffalo Bills. He then requested a trade apparently after Week five once he was not being used as the starter he once was. After not playing for three consecutive weeks after his rumored request for an unknown reason, Akers came back in early November and denied ever requesting a trade.
Assuming that his relationship with McVay is repaired entering his third season, Akers will be the lead back for the Rams heading into 2023, as he finished last season with three consecutive 100-yard games on the ground.
Still with Akers as the lead back, the Rams do lack experience in that group, with second-year backs Ronnie Rivers (undrafted) and former fifth-round pick Kyren Williams from last year’s NFL Draft on the roster, along with sixth-round rookie Zach Evans. Among them, none of them has more than three years in the NFL.
Both Rivers and Williams got chances to start last year but underperformed, so there is a chance a veteran back like Freeman could make the team. The free agent signing can be just a training camp/ preseason back to show what he has left in the tank for a team that is trying to get back into the postseason with their stars now healthy.
