Wow. Sony had 208 carries for 845 yards for us last year, a 4.1 average. For many games he not only felt like our best runner-- it seemed like we found our identity with him.
Just strange to me that Michel seems to have so little value, given how often he carried the Rams on his back in 2021.
Jake Funk or Sony Michel? No contest. Yeah Funk is good on ST, but purely as a RB.....?
Agreed. If the financials work, I'd bring Michel back and cut Funk. Funk has not shown much to my eye. We can find someone else to take Funk's spot on special teams. I would not say Funk's special teams contributions have been anything spectuacular.
Sony provides tough running and the ability to plough through opposing defenders for short yardage. At least last year, Akers and Hendo seemed incapable of doing that. I am optimistic that Akers will be better this year with more time to heal from his achilles injury. But still. Sony carried our offense last year at times. He was highly effective. He is a vet that knows how to win. His pass protection and blitz diagnosis are both very good (remember the .gif of him flying through the air to protect Stafford, I think against Tampa Bay?). He would be a definite asset to the team.
Of course, who knows if Michel even wants to come back. The Rams might well not be able to pay what he is seeking. Moreover, once Akers returned to the lineup, Sony was immediately getting almost 0 snaps, which was pretty perplexing, given how well Michel played for the team, and the fact that Akers was coming off a serious injury and at times having trouble getting going. I am not saying that Cam should not have returned to his RB1 role. But the fact that Michel was immediately all but benched, despite how well he played, and being the only RB to stay healthy for the season, when Cam and Hendo weren't providing anything special, might well have left him feeling disrespected.
