The rules for wearing single-digit jersey numbers for the running backs changed last year. As a result, Los Angeles Rams’ Cam Akers requested to switch his jersey number to 3, which was used by Odell Beckham Jr. in the season.

However, he was unsuccessful in getting his proposal accepted by the NFL. But this time, the running back will don his favorite No 3 jersey in the wake of Odell Beckham Jr. recovering from a torn ACL he incurred in the previous season.

Cam Akers was unsuccessful in getting a No. 3 jersey last season

As previously said, rules were changed during the 2021 season, aiding running backs to switch their jersey numbers. From a spectator’s point of view, these numbers seem less significant; however, it means a lot for players like Cam Akers. When Beckham joined the Los Angeles Rams last November, Akers was an injured reserve.

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He was playing with the No 23 jersey, and OBJ was donning No 3 then. Akers planned to switch his jersey number and requested the league management about the same. To his surprise, the NFL charged him a whopping $500,000 for the existing inventory of his No. 23 jerseys. As a result, Akers decided to wait till the next season and get his desired number free of cost.

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According to ESPN insider Adam Schefter, while OBJ signed a deal with the Rams last year, both the parties mutually agreed the receiver would have a different number, other than No. 3 if he re-signs with the team in 2022. “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,” Schefter said in his latest tweet.

Also, the then backup quarterback John Wolford was barred from giving up his No 13 jersey to OBJ because it prohibits the NFL rules as the season was underway. The elite wide receiver Beckham Jr. is on his path to recovery and is still a free agent. As soon as the NFL draft adjourns, he is expected to sign a deal. Most probably, the LA Rams are the front-runners to include OBJ again on the roster.

Why is No.3 so significant for Akers?

According to the running back, his obsession for No. 3 dates back to his childhood playing football for school and college. He wore No. 3 while playing at Florida State and Clinton High School in Mississippi. The 22-year-old said he began wearing this number when he was six and always used it in times of stress and heartbreaks.

“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 added to his reply.

According to Rams Wire’s DaSilva, his desperation for changing the numbers went on to the extent that the Rams began offering Akers No. 3 jerseys online last year. Hopefully, this new jersey brings the same amount of luck as he believes it brings to him.

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