THOUSAND OAKS — Two weeks ago, Rams coach Sean McVay oddly said he wanted running backs Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson on the same timeline for returning to practice after he revealed that both were dealing with soft tissue injuries.

“The first goal is to get those guys back out here when both of them are able to go full speed, 100 percent with no restrictions,” McVay said on Aug. 15.

The Rams got the timelines to match and both returned to practice on Monday. Akers and Henderson were full participants, according to McVay.

“They looked good,” McVay said of his top two running backs. “They got a few reps, so that was a good thing.”

It seemed the timelines weren’t going to match after McVay mentioned that Akers was unable to participate in the workout that Henderson had Saturday in Cincinnati before the Rams’ preseason finale against the Bengals.

Initially, McVay didn’t provide details of Akers’ and Henderson’s injuries besides referring to them as soft tissue issues, but McVay said Monday that precaution was partly why the two running backs didn’t practice the past two weeks given their past history with injuries.

Henderson, a fourth-year player, hasn’t played a full season in his career and missed eight games last season, including three in the postseason.

“The consistency of trying to avoid some of the things that we can do in terms of being available,” McVay said about what he wants to see from Henderson this season. “Darrell has always been such a stud. He can do so many different things for us. With the ball in his hands, he’s dynamic. He’s a great slash runner. He’s got great skills out of the backfield. He’s tough as hell in protection. There’s not any limitations in what Darrell can do when he’s available.

“It’s just, ‘Hey, sometimes you can’t prevent some of the things that occur.’ Are we doing everything to develop the armor in the foundational strength for your body and just your weekly rhythm and routine to sustain throughout the course of the year? And that’s part of why we were a little bit, I wouldn’t say reluctant, but err on the side of caution of getting him back, but he looks good. I love Darrell Henderson.”

#Rams RBs Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson both holding helmets and wearing pads. Looks like they’re practicing today

— Gilbert Manzano (@GManzano24) August 29, 2022

Akers and Henderson are considered the team’s top two running backs, but rookie Kyren Williams will be a part of the rotation. He impressed during last week’s scrimmages with the Bengals, and he’s done well in pass protection, an area that often prevents rookies from seeing the field.

“That was one of my favorite things about (Williams),” McVay said. “Evaluating him coming out of Notre Dame, he wasn’t afraid (to pass protect). He’s got great contact balance and a low center of gravity to be able to get up through people. Good technique.”

ROOKIE SAFETIES TO CONTRIBUTE

The Rams are crowded at safety with Jordan Fuller, Taylor Rapp, Nick Scott and Terrell Burgess, but the team will likely create room for rookie safeties Quentin Lake and Russ Yeast on the 53-man roster.

“No, I don’t think it’ll have to get down to that,” McVay said about picking between the rookie safeties. “Russ has done a good job. He’s really played really well. He played every play in the first half (versus the Bengals) and played all the (special) teams (Saturday) and he’s only getting better. He’s got great range, really coachable, high-football character guy and so (I) really like him.

“I feel very similar, if you see the demeanor and the way that Quentin Lake has handled himself in the meetings and just the way that he’s attacking getting himself healthy and ready to go. … Both these guys are people that we anticipate being very helpful contributors for the Rams.”

Lake, a sixth-round pick from UCLA, hasn’t practiced this summer because of a knee injury and opened training camp on the physically unable to perform list. McVay recently said he had no injury update on Lake, which could mean he’ll remain on the PUP list to start the regular season.

TOUGH DECISIONS

The Rams have until 1 p.m. PT on Tuesday to trim their roster from 80 to 53 players. They’ll have several tough decisions and two will likely involve defensive tackle Jonah Williams and rookie offensive tackle A.J. Arcuri.

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McVay said Sunday that Arcuri is definitely a candidate to be the eighth or ninth offensive lineman on the roster. He’s likely competing with veteran tackle Bobby Evans if the team decides to go with eight linemen.

“He’s got a good look in his eye and he’s done a lot of really good things,” McVay said of Arcuri. “I think you’ve seen the improvement from preseason Week 1 to (Saturday) and that was evident just based on taking your experience, applying it the right way, and then trusting the techniques and the fundamentals.”

For Williams, it might come down to whether the team opts to keep six defensive linemen. Marquise Copeland and Michael Hoecht are likely penciled in as backups for the starting trio of Aaron Donald, Greg Gaines and A’Shawn Robinson.

“He’s been a consistent player,” McVay said of Williams. “He understands how we want to be able to play up front.”