It wasn’t long ago that Todd Gurley was viewed as a centerpiece of the Los Angeles Rams offense and one of their most important players. While he’s still an effective runner, he’s not the perennial Pro Bowler he once was – largely due to a lingering knee issue that hindered him in 2019.
Trade rumors have begun to swirl surrounding Gurley and the cap-strapped Rams, as he’s far from certain to be on the roster for the 2020 season. His contract extension signed in 2018 hasn’t even kicked in yet, and will pay him more than $14.3 million per year until 2023.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, “all options are on the table” for the Rams and Gurley in 2020, including keeping him, cutting him or finding a trade partner to offload his massive contract. But before they do anything, Sean McVay and the Rams will meet with Gurley to decide how to proceed.
“The Rams do have a decision on Todd Gurley. … From what I am told, what the Rams want to do — and what coach Sean McVay specifically wants to do — is sit down with Gurley before any decision was made,” Rapoport said. “So that’s probably going to happen before they decide how are they going to proceed with someone who at times has been the best running back in the NFL.”
From NFL Now: The #Rams have a decision to make on how to proceed with RB Todd Gurley, but they will meet with him first to discuss this year — his knee, the plans, and how to proceed going forward. All options are on the table. pic.twitter.com/r0vE0vEmVI
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 6, 2020
Rapoport notes that outright cutting Gurley isn’t a financially beneficial approach, since they’d incur a dead cap charge of $25.65 million if he’s released after a roster bonus of $7.55 million is paid on March 20. In other words, it’d cost them $8.4 million more to cut him than keep him in that scenario.
Trading Gurley is more feasible, saving the Rams $4.65 million in cap space for 2020. But that’s still not a huge savings and it’ll be tough to find a trade partner to take on his huge contract moving forward.
“Either way, whatever decision they make on Todd Gurley would probably have to be before the middle of March,” Rapoport added. “That’s when more than a $7 million roster bonus is due for him. A very expensive decision they have, but considering what he played through, how much pain in the knee and how much of a focus has been on him, you can certainly understand why at least all options are on the table here.”
The likeliest scenario is Gurley remaining on the roster for one more year. The Rams would have to hope he could recapture some of the magic from 2017 and 2018, but if he can’t, cutting him in 2021 is much easier thanks to the reduced dead cap hit ($8.4 million).
No matter how they proceed, this is going to be a storyline to watch as the offseason progresses.