Sean McVay: Todd Gurley’s ‘one of the all-time great Rams’

Todd Gurley was once the best offensive player in the National Football League.

Sadly, an injured knee prevented him from holding onto that title, but there’s no doubt that he still has what it takes to be an elite ball carrier in the league.

The way that Rams head coach Sean McVay publicly handled Gurley’s knee injury has been one of the most criticized stories since Los Angeles’ Super Bowl loss to New England.

McVay would routinely tell the media that Gurley’s knee was fine and that they were limiting his touches for reasons. Nobody bought that story.

As frustrating as it was for fans to watch Gurley take less and less snaps, McVay surely did not like it either. How could he? You have the best running back in the NFL on your roster and you can’t play him as much as you’d like to – yeah, McVay definitely was not a fan of that.

McVay spoke on Gurley’s tenure with the Rams shortly after the 25 year old was released by the franchise.

“I would like to thank Todd for his many contributions to the Rams, on and off the field, since I have been here,” McVay said. “He has meant a lot to my growth as a coach and leader and he will always be remembered as one of the all-time great Rams. I wish him nothing but the best.”

Gurley ranks sixth all-time in Rams history with 5,404 career rushing yards and his 58 rushing touchdowns ranks second.

Rams GM Les Snead, who drafted Gurley in 2015, also spoke on Thursday.

“When we drafted Todd in 2015, we knew he was going to be a one-of-a-kind talent that would create special moments on the football field for us,” Snead said. “Todd did this by becoming one of the greatest competitors in this league, but more than that, he served as a great teammate to his fellow players and ambassador for our organization, and those traits speak volumes to who he is as a human being.”