Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley was the 2017 Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year and led the league with 40 total touchdowns over 2017 and 2018, but signs are pointing to the two-time All-Pro heading out of town.
Per ESPN's Jeff Darlington on SportsCenter (h/t Evan Silva of Establish the Run), Gurley is "likelier than not to be traded" from the team that drafted him 10th overall in 2015.
The 25-year-old signed a four-year, $60 million contract extension in 2018.
Gurley excelled in the first year post-extension, helping the Rams go 13-3 and win the NFC. His 17 rushing touchdowns led the league, and his 1,831 scrimmage yards ranked fourth.
However, Gurley missed the final two regular-season games and only had 16 combined touches in the Rams' final two postseason matchups, leading to speculation as to whether the running back was hurt during the playoffs.
Then-backfield mate CJ Anderson said the following on FS1'sUndisputed(h/t Mark W. Sanchezof the New York Post).
"[Gurley] was really more hurt than what we thought,"Anderson said in February 2019. "The injury was a little bit more than what everybody in the building thought, including himself."
He added:
"Obviously, it's the same knee injury he's had before in his career. Obviously, I had surgery on my meniscus and once you have a knee [injury], you always have a knee [injury]. So it aggravates, and he was getting a lot of touches earlier in the year-obviously, him being one of the best backs, that probably was the case."
CBS Sports' Dave Richard spoke with Gurley's trainer Travelle Gaines about Gurley's knee in particular last July:
"Everybody knew when Todd came out of Georgia that there would be some kind of arthritic component to his knee, which is part of every surgery whether it's a shoulder, a knee, an ankle. He's now at the year-five mark, all we're doing is managing that. If we can pound him less in the offseason while keeping his weight down, working on his strength, working on his agility in short areas, that's going to give him a better chance to be healthy Weeks 14 through 17 when they really count."Gurley suffered a torn ACL in his left knee while at Georgia. He's missed just seven games over the past five seasons.
Concerns over Gurley's play occurred in 2019 when he saw his yards per carry dip from 4.9 to 3.8 and his yards per catch fall from 9.8 to 6.7. His 1,064 scrimmage yards were a career-low.
The Rams are coming off a disappointing 9-7 season and compete in a tough NFC West that features the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers, the 11-5 Seattle Seahawks and an Arizona Cardinals team that just added superstar wideout DeAndre Hopkins.
Changes are inevitable, and news about Gurley's potential move from L.A. has surfaced recently. Of note, Mike Silver of NFL Network reported on Monday that Gurley was "coming up in trade talks."
Silver wrote the following on Dec. 22 after the Rams were officially eliminated from playoff contention.
"As for the roster, Gurley's high salary and declining production may make him a cap casualty, and other key players could be traded or released as the organization builds around Goff on offense and star defensive tackle Aaron Donald on defense."
The Rams have largely enjoyed a nice run under head coach Sean McVay, averaging 11 wins per year from 2017 to 2019 and making the playoffs twice (and Super Bowl once).
But the core that brought the team much success would be broken up if Gurley is traded.
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