The Los Angeles Rams have dealt with some difficult injuries this season on the defensive side of the ball, as three of their starting defensive lineman Robert Quinn, Michael Brockers and Williams Hayes as well as their top cornerback Trumaine Johnson have all missed this with injuries.
For the most part the Rams key offensive players have stayed healthy, until this week.
Running back Todd Gurley missed practice on both Wednesday and Thursday with a thigh injury. If he missed Friday’s practice then his status for Sunday’s game against the New York Jets may have been in question, but according to Myles Simmons of therams.com Gurley return to practice Friday and felt good:
Gurley, Brockers, Johnson, and Joyner were all "full" participants in today's practice. Gurley told media he felt good after the session.
— Myles Simmons (@MylesASimmons) November 11, 2016
Despite the questionable tag, Gurley, along with Brockers, Johnson, Lamarcus Joyner and Matt Longacre are all expected to play in Sunday’s game.
Gurley has had some trouble replicating the success of his rookie season this year, as he has carried the ball 146 times for 451 yards, averaging 3.1 yards per carry which is third worst among qualified runners.
Head coach Jeff Fisher recently said that Gurley’s workload will increase in the coming weeks, as that is what the team’s offensive identity should be.
After averaging 21 carries per game through the first five weeks of the season Gurley has averaged just 13.67 carries in the last three games, all three of which were losses for the Rams.
Gurley will have his work cut out for him Sunday against the New York Jets, as their run defense ranks fourth in the league.