One of the mysteries of the NFL postseason was Todd Gurley’s limited usage by the Los Angeles Rams. New reports are offering insight into the situation.
On Friday, CBS Sports reported that the Rams are “concerned” about Gurley’s left knee. The team reportedly has Gurley “on an offseason regimen” and may consider stem cell treatments to get him healthy for the 2019 season. The Rams are concerned about the number hits of Gurley is taking. In four seasons (2015-18), Gurley has logged 1,042 carries despite missing six regular-season games. No other NFL running back has recorded more than 950 carries during that timeframe.
Friday’s report did not spell out the issue with Gurley’s left knee. Saturday morning, Jeff Howe of The Athletic reported that Gurley is dealing with arthritis in his knee. It is the same knee that Gurley underwent surgery to repair his ACL in 2014.
While the hope is that Gurley will be back healthy in 2019, the former Georgia running back is financially secure. The deal he signed in July 2018 came with a $21 million signing bonus. For the 2019 season, he is guaranteed $5 million base salary on the third day of the league year. The league year for 2019 begins March 13.
“We’re going to implement a plan to have him attack it to get that knee back to feeling full strength, feeling good based on just the amount of work that he’s gotten,” Rams coach Sean McVay told CBS Sports. “That would be no different whether he missed any games or not, though.”
Rams running back Todd Gurley has arthritis in his knee, according to a source. Helps explain his limited usage in the playoffs.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) March 2, 2019
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
