Keeping Todd Gurley off field during OTAs right approach for Rams

When looking at the injury risk that sometimes comes with participating in OTAs, the Los Angeles Rams are taking the right approach with keeping Todd Gurley off the field for drills.

After dealing with a knee injury in the NFC Championship and Super Bowl last winter, the pressure is on for Todd Gurley heading into his fifth NFL season with the Los Angeles Rams in 2019, especially after signing that hefty extension last offseason.

When healthy, Gurley has proven to be one of the most dangerous running backs in the NFL, and watching the former Georgia star shred his way through opposing defenses over the years has been truly incredible to watch.

Unfortunately, Los Angeles has already made it clear that heading into 2019, they will be taking a different approach with their Pro Bowl running back as a result of the knee injury that was clearly bothering him late in the postseason.

It was one thing to just assume that Gurley had an off day when he rushed for 10 yards and a touchdown on four carries in the NFC Championship victory over the New Orleans Saints, but following up with 35 rushing yards on 10 carries in the Super Bowl was beyond shocking.

Clearly, something was going on with Gurley to be limited this much in the two most important games of the year, and while the Rams weren’t really helping with their lack of updates, it was eventually revealed that arthritis was the issue.

All of a sudden, Los Angeles knew things may be different with Gurley moving forward since the last thing they wanted to do in 2019 and beyond is overwork their star running back to a point in which the knee gets worse.

For the most part, it’s been difficult at times to figure out updates surrounding Gurley over the last few months, but if fans are looking for one factor to be positive about, it should be the decision by the team to keep him off the field for drills during OTAs.

As great as it is to watch teams hold offseason workouts to help keep the group in the best shape possible before training camp arrives, it also comes with risk when looking at some of the serious injuries players have suffered over the years.

Despite all of the uncertainty surrounding Gurley at the moment, the best chance Los Angeles is going to have at making another run at the Super Bowl next season is if their star running back plays at a high level.

In other words, since it’s still a mystery just how effective Gurley will be by the time Week 1 rolls around, why would the Rams even consider the risk of having him participate in drills over the last two weeks?

By coming up with a plan of their own for Gurley, at least Los Angeles and their fans can feel a little better over not having to worry about him being pushed too much during a program like OTAs since one can only imagine the frustration if it resulted in the knee becoming worse.