According to Michael Silver, Rams RB Todd Gurley‘s name has come up in trade talks.
Silver adds an NFL GM who discussed this with the Rams says Los Angeles is seeking “something of value” like a pick in the second or fourth-round range in exchange for Gurley. The new team’s willingness to take on Gurley’s contract would be a factor.
Silver notes the Rams may be ready to move on given Gurley’s questionable health status and bulky contract. Finding a taker has been thought to be a challenge for those reasons, though.
However, the Cardinals just found someone willing to take RB David Johnson despite his contract and injury history, so a deal for Gurley can’t be ruled out.
The Rams were seeking to have a meeting with Gurley this offseason to discuss how to proceed. After having his usage scaled down toward the end of 2018, Gurley saw a career-low number of carries and the fewest number of targets since his rookie season.
That combined with reports of arthritis in his knee and a load management program have made his NFL future uncertain just a few years after becoming the NFL’s highest-paid running back.
While cutting Gurley outright would be unwieldy for the Rams’ salary cap situation, resulting in an $8.4 million loss of cap space in 2020 per Over The Cap, Ian Rapoport says a trade of Gurley would be “more possible” for the Rams and “all options are on the table.”
Should the Rams find a buyer for Gurley, they would actually pick up $4.65 million in cap space this year.
Gurley, 25, is a former first-round pick of the Rams back in 2015. He was entering the final year of his four-year, $13.823 million contract and stood to make a base salary of $2.31 million for the 2018 season when the Rams picked up his fifth-year option.
Gurley later agreed to a new four-year extension worth $60 million and includes $45 million guaranteed with the Rams a few months later.
In 2019, Gurley appeared in 15 games for the Rams and rushed for 857 yards on 223 carries (3.8 YPC) to go along with 31 receptions for 207 yards receiving and 14 total touchdowns.
We’ll have more on Gurley as the news is available.
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