Todd Gurley Released By Rams, Signs With Falcons

There isn’t too much going on in the sports world these days, at least on the fields, but there is plenty of player movement in the NFL now that free agency has begun. One of these moves was the release of running back Todd Gurley by the Los Angeles Rams after five seasons.

Gurley rushed for 1305 yards and 13 touchdowns in the 2017-18 season. But the versatile running back could also catch passes; he caught 64 of them that season for 788 yards and six touchdowns. He received a huge contract extension ($60 million for four years, with $45 million guaranteed). In 2018-19, he rushed for 1251 yards and 17 touchdowns, had 580 receiving yards, and caught four touchdown passes. The Rams went to the Super Bowl, but Gurley rushed for only 10 yards (with a touchdown) in the NFC Championship game and only 35 yards on 10 carries in the Rams’ 13-3 Super Bowl loss to New England. Gurley’s injury status was a mystery; later, it was reported he had an arthritic left knee. Skeptics figured it was more than that; he had suffered a torn ACL in his left knee while he was a running back at Georgia in college. Last season, he rushed for 857 yards and 12 touchdowns in 15 games, with 207 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.

This offseason the Rams found themselves with salary cap issues, and made the surprising, but perhaps somewhat predictable moves of cutting Gurley as well as veteran linebacker Clay Matthews (after just one season of a two year deal). The Falcons, who ranked near the bottom in rushing yards last season, decided he was worth taking a chance on, at least with a one year contract. If he is at, or somewhere near his best, he can be a great addition to a Falcons’ offense that features QB Matt Ryan and WR Julio Jones. The Falcons started the season 1-7, but were 6-2 over the second half, including wins at New Orleans and at San Francisco.

Here’s a link to some highlights from Gurley’s 2017-18 season.

https://youtu.be/fwq-LmLUvWw