There’s a new No. 3 in Los Angeles.
Running back Cam Akers will sport No. 3 next season for the Rams, the team announced on Tuesday afternoon through their Twitter page.
Back in 3️⃣ pic.twitter.com/yIs32kbXzN
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) April 27, 2022
Odell Beckham Jr., currently a free agent, wore the number while playing for Los Angeles last season.
Responding to Adam Schefter’s report about Akers switching to No. 3, Beckham said that he would have paid Akers to wear the No. 3 jersey, but Akers stopped responding to him.
But I wouldaaaa gave him the Bread!!! And fkkk tht ima air Cam out ! We were in negotiations for it and he just stoppped responding to me! Yeaaaa I’m puttin him on blast cause he didn’t wanna text back
— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) April 29, 2022
Akers, who wore No. 23 in each of his first two NFL seasons, had hoped to make the switch in jersey numbers last season, as Rams Wire’s Cameron DaSilva chronicled last June. The number is deeply significant to Akers — he played with that number since childhood. In times of stress and heartbreak, he always had his favorite No. 3.
“That number holds a lot of value to me because I played in that number when I was in my roughest times in life,” Akers told reporters back in 2021. “I feel like I’m at my strongest – not literally at my strongest, but that’s how I feel.”
Akers apparently was so far down the line of changing his jersey number last year that the Rams began offering Akers No. 3 jerseys online, per DaSilva. The former Florida State tailback had even gone as far as starting to wear the number on his practice jersey.
However, Akers sported No. 23 during the 2021. The reason, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter points out, had more to do with finances than anything else. The NFL planned on charging Akers $500,000, a hefty fee for something as trivial as a number.
Last year, Cam Akers planned to switch to No. 3, but NFL wanted to charge him $500,000, so he waited until this season to make the switch, for free. When OBJ signed, the Rams and NFL arranged for him to wear No. 3, but all sides agreed he would have a different number in 2022. pic.twitter.com/xTKJYEspti
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 27, 2022
Akers played the waiting game. It worked out perfectly for the Rams, who signed Beckham after his messy divorce from the Browns. Beckham impressed in the Rams’ gold-and-white, making 27 catches for 305 yards and five touchdowns in eight games in L.A. He even added an acrobatic touchdown grab in the Rams’ 23-20 Super Bowl victory over the Bengals.
Still, the organization agreed to let Akers wear No. 3 in 2022. He won’t have to pay a dime to wear the number now, according to Schefter.
Meanwhile, Beckham’s status with the Rams is still up in the air. He suffered a torn ACL in Los Angeles’ Super Bowl win, one that is poised to keep him out for months.
If he does return to the Rams, Beckham would likely have to look for a number he hasn’t worn since bursting onto the stage at LSU. Beckham has worn No. 13 throughout his NFL career, and sported No. 33 in his early college days. However, both of those numbers are taken.