The Los Angeles Rams had to limit Todd Gurley at the end of last season because of a bothersome knee. Unfortunately, it appears to still be a problem.
Todd Gurley was either extremely intelligent or extremely fortunate (or both) to sign his recent four-year, $57 million deal with the Los Angeles Rams.
Less than one season in, he began experiencing ongoing issues with his knee, now being called a degenerative, arthritic condition. Having been guaranteed $45 million at the consummation of the deal, Gurley put himself in a fantastic financial position, securing his financial future before this bad news came to light.
However, this situation puts the Rams in a very bad position, particularly since they built their offense around Gurley’s skill set and need those skills to continue to keep the pressure off of Jared Goff – and to keep the offense chugging along.
Adam Levitan posted this quote from Gurley on Twitter this morning:
That does not sound like a ringing endorsement of his health, or even a hopeful outlook for the future. In fact, it must sound downright frightening to the Rams front office. They were wise to select dynamic running back Darrell Henderson in the draft as some insurance, but Henderson cannot do all that Gurley can do.
Gurley is one of the best running backs the league has seen this decade, with his ability to run with power, speed, and agility. He also is excellent in the passing game and will break tackles with regularity.
Take Gurley out of the Rams offense and it will not only hurt the running game but also the passing game, which is built on the play-action pass. This could spell a step back for the Rams as a team, after their quick rise to the top of the NFC West.