Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley seemed like the best player in the world at his position. Then a nagging knee injury limited him throughout the playoffs, especially during the Rams’ Super Bowl LIII loss to the New England Patriots.
Gurley’s trainer recently provided some long-awaited clarity by confirming that the star running back has arthritis in his left knee. To ostensibly help him shoulder the load, the Rams drafted touted running back Darrell Henderson out of the University of Memphis in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
While Gurley could have given a cold shoulder to someone who figures to cut into his playing time, that does not appear to be the case. Rather, he has been giving Henderson plenty of advice during their first workouts together, according to Myles Simmons of TheRams.com:
“Just something I just learned,” Gurley said during minicamp. “It’s OK to make mistakes, but if you keep making them over and over, then nine times out of 10 you just can’t get it. The only way [young players] are going to learn a lot of stuff is by experiencing it. And when you experience it you are either going to pass the test or you’re going to fail the test and it’s just about how you respond and come back from it the next time.”
“Yeah, [I just told] him, go out there and don’t be afraid,” Gurley continued. “If you make a mistake, you make a mistake, but at the end of the day at least you know what you learned from and you can be able to come back the next day and bounce back from there.”
Gurley has extended himself to all the Rams’ new rookies and recently hosted a barbecue for them with team legend Eric Dickerson. If he has any discontent with the franchise and their actions surrounding his knee issues, he has not shown it.
Rather, Gurley remains a cornerstone of the Rams’ roster and figures to continue as one for several more years following the extension he signed last offseason.
As the Rams gear up for another Super Bowl run, several other teams have dealt with discontent from their core players, most notably the Pittsburgh Steelers with since-traded star wideout Antonio Brown.
Everything coming out of the Rams’ offseason minicamps surrounding guys like Gurley, Aaron Donald and Jared Goff, however, have given the total opposite signals, as the team remains focused on hoisting the Lombardi trophy at season’s end.
