Los Angeles Rams: Todd Gurley is proving the running back stigma true
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Rams have the best running back in the league in Todd Gurley, who is also proving the stigma around running back contracts true.
The Los Angeles Rams have the most talented running back in the league in Todd Gurley and had to do everything in their power to keep him in LA. Gurley has a rare combination of being an elite threat in both the running and the passing game and has the potential to set record-setting numbers.
Gurley received MVP votes in 2017 and was an early-season front-runner for MVP in 2018. If Gurley could have played the entire 2018 season he definitely would have been in the conversation. If Patrick Mahomes did not have a record-setting year, he likely would have won it.
The Rams recognized this and signed Gurley to a four-year, $57.5 million contract. And to be fair, the Los Angeles Rams actually did the smart thing and signed Gurley to this contract earlier than most teams would.
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That is because Gurley, who is still only 24 years old, is dealing with knee issues that seem more serious than first anticipated. It is believed that Gurley has tendinitis, which would have huge long-term repercussions in his career.
Luckily for the Rams, if the worst-case scenario comes to fruition the team can back out of Gurley’s contract after the 2021 season. But still, in 2020 and 2021, Gurley has a combined cap hit of $30.55 million.
If everything is OK, the Rams can keep Gurley for another two seasons through his age 29 season. To compare, Le’Veon Bell is 27 years old.
While the Rams might have been proactive in signing Gurley earlier rather than later, the overlying concerns with his knee and the fact that a running back was a need for the team in the 2019 NFL Draft only proves the stigma around giving running backs big contracts true.
We have seen this happen so many times: an elite running back getting a big contract only to get injured and not be worth the cap space. Running backs have a very short shelf life in the NFL and the fact of the matter is that it is not that hard to find a quality running back in 2019.
Who does this effect? Melvin Gordon is entering the last year of his rookie contract and is going to be looking for an extension for the Los Angeles Chargers. Ezekiel Elliot has two more years on his contract. Those two elite backs are going to be the talking points in the next two years and Gurley’s situation is undoubtedly going to hurt their stock.
As phenomenal as Gurley is, as groundbreaking as he can be when he is on the field and healthy, it is simply a massive risk to give a running back that large of a contract.
dark. Next. 2019 is the most important year of Goff's career
And for the Los Angeles Rams, who have two other massive contracts in Brandin Cooks and Aaron Donald and have a quarterback that is due to get paid soon, this could come back to haunt the franchise.