Darrell Henderson runs into the end zone for a touchdown vs the Atlanta Falcons. Henderson has been waived by the Los Angeles Rams. Sep 18, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams running back Darrell Henderson Jr. (27) scores a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
NFLBy Matt Clapp on

The Los Angeles Rams surprised the NFL world on Tuesday by releasing a running back that had been the team’s primary ball-carrier for most of the last three seasons.

Los Angeles announced — among a series of moves — that they have waived running back Darrell Henderson.

Shortly after the news, Henderson tweeted the following:

Henderson, 25, has started seven of the Rams’ 10 games this season and 28 games over the last three seasons. He led the team in rushing this season, with 70 carries for 283 yards (4.0 yards per carry) and three touchdowns, to go with 17 receptions for 102 yards. The fourth-year running back has averaged at least 4.0 yards per carry in each of the last three seasons and 4.4 yards per carry for his career.

The assumption over the last several weeks has been that Cam Akers, not Henderson, was the Los Angeles running back with its roster status in question. The Rams were reportedly even looking to trade Akers ahead of the Nov. 1 deadline.

However, Akers has seen his role increase over the last few weeks, with that especially being the case in the Rams’ 27-20 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Akers had 14 carries for 61 yards, while Henderson had just two carries for nine yards. There had been concerns that Akers’ explosiveness had deteriorated after suffering an Achilles injury in July 2021, and he’s only averaging 3.1 yards per carry on the season. But Akers is running with more efficiency of late, and perhaps head coach Sean McVay and the Rams are now optimistic about Akers returning to the promising form he showed as a rookie in 2020.

Additionally, the Henderson decision is a sign that the Rams are very high on rookie fifth-rounder Kyren Williams (who had seven carries for 36 yards vs the Saints), and he’s definitely a name for fantasy football managers to keep in mind for the rest of the season.

Henderson will surely draw a lot of interest from rushing-needy teams and shouldn’t take long to find a new home.

NFL fans were very surprised by Tuesday’s news, and here’s a sampling of the reaction on social media:

[Los Angeles Rams]

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.

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