Todd Gurley is one of the best running backs in the NFL.
During this past postseason though, he did not play like the guy who received a 4-year $60 million contract extension with $45 million of it guaranteed last January.
In the NFC Championship and Super Bowl combined, Gurley had a total 16 touches for 47 yards and 1 touchdown.
His two worst games of the season could not have come at a worse time for the Rams who lost in the Super Bowl 13-3 to the Patriots.
We now know the real reason why Gurley performed so poorly in those two pivotal games.
The Athletic’s Jeff Howe reports that Gurley is suffering from arthritis in his surgically repaired knee from 2014.
Gurley originally underwent surgery on his left knee for an ACL tear in 2014.
It seems that same knee is giving him even more issues.
That is bad news for the Rams.
C.J. Anderson during a recent appearance on FS1’s Undisputed hinted at the idea that Gurley’s knee injury could be worse than what team let on. As he said,
“He [Gurley] was more hurt than what we thought. The injury was a little bit more than what everybody in the building thought, including himself. He’d never really tell me. It was tough. I would say sprained knee. 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, you always have a knee. So it aggravates. If he was getting a lot of touches earlier in the year— obviously, him being one of the best running backs that probably was the case.”
Obviously this is of grave concern for a talented Rams football team that will be prohibitive favorites to get back to the Super Bowl next season.
The Rams have said that Gurley will not need surgery, but do plan on exploring treatment options for Gurley. Head Coach Sean McVay said that treatment options could include stem-cell treatment.
McVay discussing Gurley’s knee issues at the Scouting Combine said,
“As far as the stem cells, that’s not something that’s been communicated to me, but there is a program. We’ve got these doctors and there’s always new methods of staying as up-to-date as you can, and number one, the player has to feel good about it. Todd does such a good job of doing his own research and knowing what are the things [he] can do.”
And that the Rams will explore,
‘New methods’,
for dealing with Gurley knee problem.
According to Pro Football Talk, as of the third day of the 2019 league year, Gurley will have $34.5 million fully guaranteed and another $9.5 million still guaranteed for injury.
So financially Gurley will be just fine regardless.
Gurley’s injury treatment and progress though will be a major off season story line for the Rams and for the NFL.
Hopefully for the Rams Gurley will be able to bounce back and regain his form that has made him one of the most dynamic backs in the NFL today.