As the Los Angeles Rams perhaps consider signing a running back, Eric Dickerson has one in mind for them.
This week brought bad injury news for the Los Angeles Rams, with running back Cam Akers suffering a torn Achilles. He’ll miss the entire coming season, and leave behind a depth chart where one guy (Darrell Henderson) currently has an NFL carry on his resume.
The Rams seem set to roll with Henderson as their lead back in Akers’ place. But the lack of experience down the depth chart has to be a concern, even if there’s no apparent rush to sign an available veteran or make a trade for someone buried on another team’s depth chart.
TMZ Sports recently caught up with Hall of Famer and former Rams’ great Eric Dickerson. He offered what he sees as a “no brainer” signing for the team.
Should the Rams reunite with a former running back?
Dickerson thinks former Ram Todd Gurley, who is still available after spending the 2020 season with the Atlanta Falcons, is an ideal fit.
“That’s a no-brainer,” “I mean, he knows the offense, he knows this offense. He doesn’t have to come in and try and learn it. . . . He knows [Sean] McVay, he knows the guys on the team — that would be an easy fit.”
Spurred by a lingering knee problem, Gurley’s tenure with the Rams ended in 2020 basically just as he was set to start the huge contract he signed with them. There may be some sour grapes there from Gurley’s end, with a money dispute that followed his release, but Dickerson dismissed those concerns.
“At the end of the day, football, this is business,” Dickerson said. “That’s what it comes down to. You got to make business decisions. . . . You got to make decisions that are good for the football team, and the player has to make decisions that’s best for him.”
It would be a cool story if Gurley and the Rams reunited, and it’s hard to believe he’ll still only turn 27 in early August. But on the back of The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue calling the move a “non-starter”, Dickerson’s attempt at being an amateur GM holds no water.