The Rams released Todd Gurley two years into a f
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00The Los Angeles Rams have parted ways with running back Todd Gurley.
00:04Let's bring in Albert Breer of the MMQB for more on this.
00:07And Bert, the decision to cut their franchise running back in Todd Gurley,
00:12a lot went into play, I'm sure, here.
00:13The diminished production, but also a lot of financials.
00:17What was the overall reasoning here for the Rams to cut Gurley?
00:20I mean, it was mostly the financials and the contract that he signed in June of 2018.
00:25And really, the contract was going to go one of two ways this week,
00:29and neither of them were really good for the team.
00:31Either they were going to go forward with him.
00:33And in that case, all of his $13.05 million for 2020 would become fully guaranteed.
00:40And then an additional $5 million for 2021 would become fully guaranteed.
00:45So that's a financial outlay of over $18 million that would be guaranteed.
00:50Or they could move on from him.
00:53And that would cost them a $7.55 million roster bonus that's already fully guaranteed.
00:59Which that, of course, now is the direction that they've chosen to go.
01:03Clearly not the player he was before, but still an iconic player in the franchise's history.
01:08One of the faces of the franchise when they moved back to LA.
01:11And of course, one of the biggest players on a Super Bowl team a couple of years ago.
01:16So the Rams eat the $7.55 million for 2020.
01:21They're going to have to take on an additional $12.6 million in dead cap money.
01:26Financially, this is not a good situation for the Rams.
01:30But certainly some good memories for them as they say goodbye to Todd Gurley.
01:33Yeah, let's talk about the ramifications on both ends of this.
01:37First, when it comes to Gurley, he's now a free agent, obviously.
01:41Where does he land?
01:43Who is willing to take a risk on Gurley and take on some of the injury history that comes with him?
01:50Well, you see how slow the running back market has gone.
01:53So that certainly is a factor here.
01:55And look, a big part of this is that the draft class is really strong, right?
02:00So you've got Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor, Georgia's DeAndre Smith, Ohio State's J.K.
02:05Dobbins, LSU's Clyde Edwards-Hilaire, all those guys seen as starting level players.
02:11All those guys could be available on day two of the draft.
02:14And so the availability of those guys in April is really killing some guys now in March.
02:20And that's one reason why a guy like Melvin Gordon is available.
02:24There's, of course, the fact that running backs age the way that they do.
02:28And certainly that's a factor in all of this, too.
02:31And so, look, it's always hard for veteran running backs to get paid on the market.
02:37Todd Gurley now goes into a group that's facing a really, really cold market at this time.
02:41And so it very well may be a while until Todd Gurley lands on a team.
02:47And don't forget, too, this is a guy who's got extensive medical history.
02:51And you can't go places to take physicals right now.
02:54So, I mean, I think it's pretty clear that in a market where running backs are having
03:00problems, in a market where guys who are hurt are having problems, Todd Gurley could be
03:04waiting for a while before he finds his new home.
03:07How about the other side of this with the Rams?
03:09Who takes over running back?
03:11What direction do Sean McVay and the Rams go with their ground game?
03:15Well, I mean, they have had Malcolm Brown on the roster as a backup.
03:19Somebody that they really do put value in.
03:24Then there's Daryl Henderson, a rookie they drafted last year.
03:28They really liked, but didn't play a very big role in his first year.
03:33And he's somebody who, because of his versatility, may be actually even a little bit of a better
03:37fit stylistically for Sean McVay's offense than Gurley was.
03:42And so you start with those two guys.
03:43And certainly, I think they'll be looking to add in the draft.
03:46And again, the one thing that's nice for them is there are some good guys and good
03:51options in the draft that would come at a much cheaper rate than Gurley.
03:54So, you know, those players like a Taylor, like a Dobbins, like a Swift, like an Edwards
04:00Hilaire, those guys could be available to the Rams in the second or third round, which
04:04is a good thing because they don't have a first round pick.
04:07Yeah.
04:08All right.
04:08I'll prepare the MMQB with the news of the Los Angeles Rams releasing running back Todd
04:13Gurley on Thursday.
04:14Thanks, Bert.
04:16All right.
04:16Thanks, Ryan.