All through the offseason we’ve been hearing about how well Todd Gurley has been rehabbing and progressing, but the St. Louis Rams aren’t taking any risks, and won’t play their rookie running back in the first two games of the regular season.
Gurley, the 10th overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft after a stellar career at Georgia. He rushed for 3285 yards in just 30 games, playing just six times last season because of a suspension and then a torn ACL, which he is about 90% recovered from. He scored a total of 44 touchdowns in college, 36 of them on the ground, six in the passing game and two more on returns.
Gurley hasn’t suffered from a setback or anything. It’s simply that the Rams don’t want to take risks, considering that the area around the repaired ligament isn’t far enough along for the team to feel confident about a full return to action. Gurley himself isn’t trying too badly to force himself on the field, knowing that patience doesn’t hurt in this case, even if he can’t wait to actually start his NFL career.
Right now, we’re not pushing anything. It’s kind of taking it day-by-day and week-by-week. Whether it’s Week 5 or Week 1, 10 years from now nobody is going to remember what you did the first five games. You’ve just got to take it easy.
Someone who isn’t too happy about Gurley getting closer and closer to playing fitness is Tre Mason, the second-year running back who rushed for 765 yards on 179 carriers with four touchdowns last season. Not bad, but the Rams felt that Gurley offers them something special, while Mason expected to become an even bigger part of the offense in 2015.