The Los Angeles Rams made some difficult decisions this offseason, and chief among them was cutting star running back Todd Gurley, who has since signed with the Atlanta Falcons.
Gurley signed a lucrative extension with the Rams in 2018 but clearly didn’t look like himself in 2019 due to an arthritic knee condition. That led to the Rams parting ways with their former first-round draft pick, which will cost them money in the short-term but ultimately save a lot in the long-term.
It looks like the organization has already found his replacement as they used their first pick of the 2020 NFL Draft to select Cam Akers out of Florida State in the second round.
In a recent interview on the UNINTERRUPTED: We Run This Station podcast, Gurley demonstrated tremendous maturity by saying he wants to be a mentor to Akers even though that is the guy that took his spot:
“Just because whatever I have going on with the Rams, (that) don’t make me upset or want to bash or downplay another man,” Gurley said “He’s making his dream come true, just like I made my dream come true in 2015. And they went and got this kid in the second round, so I just want to be able to just tell him or show him early too, just as far as like the way to move. And then everything that comes with LA is so much opportunity out here. It’s like even though I’m going to be playing in Atlanta, I’m going to still be out here during the offseason because I know the amount of opportunities and the relationships that I had and grew out here. So I want to be able to do the same thing for him, man.
“He’s going to be a running back in the LA market. He’s going to be scoring touchdowns. He’s going to be making plays. So I want him to be able to be on the same type of thing I was on, but even more and at an earlier stage. So it’s just like everyone’s always talking a big game and saying they’re going to do this, they’re going to do that. It’s just about helping the youth. Whether they made it or not, just like when people go back in the communities and do community work, how about reach out to the young guy that’s coming up, that’s getting drafted or the young guy that don’t know anything and tell him. He just made his dream come true, so why not make this guy even better? And obviously, he’s got to focus on the field and stuff like that. And that’s going to take care of itself. He’s going to be with a great offense. He’s going to be making plays. He got [Jared Goff]. He got Robert Woods. He got Cooper Kupp. He got the opportunity right there in front of him. So I just want to maximize it and take off.”
Gurley is well-aware of what it takes to be a star on a team in a big market like L.A., so Akers can certainly soak up some valuable advice before he takes the field for the first time in a Rams uniform.
Even though the Rams used a high draft pick on Akers though, head coach Sean McVay has not committed to him as the team’s starter. Other options include Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown, which could make for an interesting competition during training camp.
