With preseason well underway, the Los Angeles Rams are hoping that their fortunes will change with their second game against the Dallas Cowboys. Although it will be a home game for Los Angeles, the game will take place across the Pacific in Hawaii.
Since it is only the preseason, many players will be held out of games until the regular season starts. With that, it appears that star running back Todd Gurley will not even make the trip to Hawaii.
According to Stu Jackson of therams.com, head coach Sean McVay is leaning towards leaving Gurley in Los Angeles despite his desire to make the trip with his teammates:
#LARams coach Sean McVay said it's "more likely than not" that RB Todd Gurley doesn't make the trip to Hawaii.
Gurley: "That's coach's decision. I would love to just go to Hawaii, sit back, sip on some pineapple juice and chill at whatever hotel we're staying at."
— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) August 13, 2019
Gurley’s health has been the biggest question for the Rams since their Super Bowl loss in February. It was revealed that he has arthritis in his knee and he has been on a personalized offseason workout regimen.
Gurley has maintained throughout the offseason that he feels good and it clearly shows as he wants to make the trip to Hawaii. While the most safe option is having Gurley stay in Los Angeles, it does not seem that traveling to Hawaii with the team could be that detrimental.
Of course, the Rams likely do not want to take any chances with Gurley’s knee. It appears that any and all precautions will be made to ensure that Gurley’s 2019 season will be long and healthy. Even backup running back Malcolm Brown was held out of the Rams first preseason game against the Oakland Raiders.
With Brown and Gurley sitting out, this left the door open for rookie running back Darrell Henderson. Henderson did not have the greatest outing against the Raiders, only going for 13 yards on six carries. He will likely receive plenty more opportunities in the preseason to show what he can do though.
