This is the story a ‘what could have been’ career if ever there was one. Former LA Rams and Atlanta Falcons Pro-Bowl running back, Todd Gurley, has just confirmed in an interview with the NFL Network that ‘there’s no question’ his career is over.
What a player Todd Gurley was in his prime. Drafted 10th overall in the 2015 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams (yup, the Rams were still in St. Louis at the time), Todd Gurley took the NFL world by storm immediately as he was first the vessel for Jeff Fisher and then the early Sean McVay offenses. Everything these mid-late 2010’s Rams teams did on offense went through #30, which was a huge testament to his skill and tenacity as a primary RB.
With 4,547 rushing yards, 1,883 receiving yards, 46 rushing touchdowns, and 10 receiving touchdowns in his first four NFL seasons, Gurley was instantly known as one of the premiere running backs of the league.
I can still remember when all of the discussions of ‘who is the best running back?’ always featured a Todd Gurley mention, along with shoutouts to Ezekiel Elliott, Kareem Hunt, and Adrian Peterson. Man, times have really changed.
Nonetheless, injuries really got the better of Gurley as he went from 1,251 rushing yards in 2018, which was the season the Rams made the Super Bowl and Gurley was named to his 3rd Pro Bowl and his 2nd All-Pro Team, to 857 rushing yards in 2019, which was his fifth and final season in LA before he was cut during the offseason.
It’s really sad to see how the dominate and elusive Todd Gurley, for that brief 4-year stint, was reduced to a broken, hollow shell of a running back only 5 years into his career.
He simply couldn’t run or maneuver around the field anymore when he signed with the Atlanta Falcons for the 2020 season. And, unfortunately for him, that season would wind up not only being his statical worst in rushing (678 yards) and receiving (188 yards), but he was also (mercifully) phased out of the NFL with his lowest carry tally of his career with 195.
So, today’s news on the NFL Network wasn’t really surprising, given that he was cut by the Falcons two years ago and hasn’t played a competitive football game since, but it’s still disappointing, nonetheless. And even more so when you realize that Gurley is only 28 years old and should be in the prime of his career right now.
Well, I guess all I can say now is congratulations, Todd, on a short, but great, career. Enjoy retirement!
Images Source: Featured Image: (Wikimedia Creative Commons License/Author: Atlanta Falcons) (Atlanta Falcons, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
