The Los Angeles Rams began the start of organized team activities this week, which typically fires up players and coaches after the long offseason.
There were some key players missing though as Todd Gurley, Aqib Talib, Marcus Peters, and Dante Fowler Jr. are among the notable players that have yet to report to the team. Although the workouts may be voluntary at this point in the offseason, their absence has raised obvious questions.
All three players are set to take on integral roles in the 2019 NFL season. Regardless, it seems head coach Sean McVay is not concerned with their whereabouts at this time.
According to Blake Richardson of the Los Angeles Times, he said he was made aware of their absences beforehand and he expects them to arrive in the near future:
Running back Todd Gurley, cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib, and linebacker Dante Fowler were not present Monday. McVay said he was aware of their absences in advance. McVay said Gurley has a specific workout plan that includes outside trainers and he expected Fowler to join the team later in the week.
“We just want to make sure we’re staying in contact with those guys,” McVay said. “They’ve been very active throughout this offseason.”
McVay’s comments are certainly understandable. Each player seems to currently be undergoing their own individual situation.
There has been plenty of speculation on that status of Gurley’s health throughout the offseason. Reports suggest that his lingering knee issue is much more serious than what the Rams are leading to believe and there are now questions regarding how heavily they plan to use him moving forward.
Fortunately, Gurley has been rather optimistic about his recovery this offseason. It is safe to say that McVay would rather have him worry about the rehabilitation than the team workouts at this time.
Peters’ absence can likely be attributed to the fact that he is looking to stay as healthy as possible while he and the Rams negotiate a potential extension. Although he endured his fair share of struggles in his debut season with the team, McVay has indicated that Los Angeles has plenty of interest in keeping him for the long-haul.
Fowler’s reasoning may be similar to Peters’ in that he may be trying to avoid any potential risk for injury, however, McVay mentioned that he expects him to join the team later in the week. After all, his one-year, prove-it does not provide him with much long-term security beyond the 2019 campaign.
