The Los Angeles Rams boasted the best running back in the league last year in Todd Gurley, who should be worrying the team and its fanbase.
Last season was the first season in which many NFL fans and analysts passed the best running back in football torch from Le’Veon Bell to the Los Angeles Rams‘ Todd Gurley.
Part of the reason was due to the fact that Bell was not even playing because of contract disputes with the Pittsburgh Steelers (which ended up hurting Bell in the end). However, Gurley was also coming off of a year in which he had over 2,000 yards from scrimmage and he started the 2018 season off looking like an MVP.
The only problem was that as the year went on Gurley noticeably was less and less effective and the Rams started passing the ball more and more.
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Before we all knew it, C.J. Anderson was carrying the ball for the Rams, thriving and earning a spot on the playoff roster. That was fine though, the Rams just wanted to be cautious with Gurley, right?
Well, that is what it seemed like until Gurley practically didn’t play in the playoffs and Anderson took 80 percent of the load. We all knew that he knee was bugging him but the Rams never really came out and addressed the issue directly.
Unlike Bell and the Steelers, the Los Angeles Rams were able to extend Gurley to a hefty contract that you typically do not see from NFL teams to running backs. The contract, which last four years for $57.5 million, has $45 million guaranteed as well.
When Gurley was extended it was huge news — a celebration for Rams fans. Now, it is becoming clear why NFL teams usually don’t do this with running backs and why the Rams might regret the contract fairly soon.
Running backs have a short shelf life in the NFL and usually, teams can find and groom a cheap running back to become a featured premier back in the league. It is rare to find the Adrian Petersons of the world that can carve out a long, successful career.
That is becoming apparent with Gurley, who is still dealing with his knee issues. He was seen limping outside of a restaurant in Los Angeles, two months removed from any football activity.
He has not had any offseason surgeries and the belief is that he has arthritis in his knee, which could obviously be a MASSIVE issue for Gurley and the Rams. It would be one thing if it was a sprain and he could rest and get back to full strength.
If he has arthritis then that means it can pop up at any time and can be much harder to fix than a one-off minor injury. It obviously is not bad enough where he is in crutches but it is bad enough to noticeably affect his walking.
This is coming from someone that deals with knee pain because of Osgood-Schlatters (yes, that is a real thing, look it up). I’m not an NFL running back and I can only imagine how my knee would flare up if I was.
It is not bad enough to the point where I limp but it does hurt with enough physical activity and Gurley could be dealing with a very similar issue: the more he runs, the more it is an issue; which in upon itself is a massive issue.
Should you worry about Todd Gurley? Yes. This is more than just a minor injury that sidelined him for a few weeks, this could be an ongoing issue that affects the rest of his career.