The Los Angeles Rams had a lot of tough decisions to make this offseason with limited cap space at their disposal, but none more difficult than choosing to release star running back Todd Gurley.
Gurley signed a huge extension to stay with the Rams long-term before the 2018 season but has dealt with some arthritic knee issues the past two years, which led to the team parting ways with him before the extension even kicked in.
It did not take much time for Gurley to find a new home as the day after he was released, it was reported that he was returning to the state he played his college ball at, signing a one-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons.
Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic though, Gurley had not been able to take a physical with the Falcons for the past few months so the signing has not yet become official. That’s changing this week though as Adam Schefter of ESPN is reporting that he finally was able to complete his physical and everything came back positive:
After having an agreement with Atlanta for nearly two months, Todd Gurley finally was able to fly to Atlanta, where he took and passed his Falcons physical Monday, per source. With his physical behind him, Gurley now can focus on his preparation for a bounce-back season.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 9, 2020
While Gurley’s extension may not have worked out for L.A., he is still just 25 years of age, so hopefully he can remain healthy and get his career back on track with the Falcons.
As far as replacing Gurley, the Rams drafted Cam Akers out of Florida State in the second round this year. He along with Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown should be competing for touches in the Rams’ backfield in 2020.
With Gurley’s signing with the Falcons becoming official, the Rams also picked up a little more than $5 million in cap space, although that will likely be used to pay the players they signed this offseason or potential extensions as opposed to bringing anyone else in.
