Rams designate RB Darrell Henderson Jr. to return from IR

Henderson Jr. is in his third NFL season after being picked by the Rams in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. In 13 games as a rookie, he only earned 39 carries for 147 yards, as Todd Gurley was still the team's primary ball-carrier in his final year with the club.

No. 27 shared a near split of backfield duties with then-rookie Cam Akers in 2020, as Henderson Jr. and Malcolm Brown mostly alternated as lead runners in the early part of the season before Akers got more involved in the later weeks. Akers finished as the team's top rusher last year with 625 rushing yards and two scores on 145 carries, while adding 11 receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown in 13 games, including five starts.

Henderson Jr. started 11 games and played in 15, ending the campaign just one yard behind Akers at 624 while producing five touchdowns on the ground on 138 totes. The former Memphis back added 16 catches for 159 receiving yards and one touchdown, while Brown contributed 101 rushes for 419 yards and five touchdowns, along with 23 receptions for 162 scoreless yards in 16 contests.

Akers tore his Achilles over the summer, leading to Henderson Jr. to take the starting role in the backfield for most of the season, before the 24-year-old suffered an MCL sprain in Week 16. After going on injured reserve the rushing duties fell to former New England Patriot Sony Michel, who was traded to Los Angeles in August and had already started to eat into Henderson Jr.'s snaps.

Michel finished the 2021 season as the Rams' leading rusher with 845 yards and four touchdowns on 208 carries, while adding 21 receptions for 128 yards and one score in 17 games as well. In 12 contests, Henderson Jr. tallied 149 carries for 688 yards and five scores on the ground, as well as 29 receptions for 176 yards and three touchdowns.