LA Rams Aprils Fools: 5 most foolish things Rams did in past 12 months

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(Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

Foolish act number 2

The second most foolish act by the LA Rams was a bit complex and confusing. It runs along the challenges created by making running back Todd Gurley one of the richest rushers in the NFL, guaranteeing his money, and then watching his production slide drastically in 2019.

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Of course, there were many extenuating circumstances, but they were all interrelated. The Rams had a huge dropoff in 2019 with their highly paid offensive players: QB Jared Goff, RB Todd Gurley, and WR Brandin Cooks. Many point to the drop in the quality of the offensive line. But the Rams parked most of their salary cap dollars into the skillset players, which left no dollars to improve the quality of the offensive line.

Rumors about the future of Gurley and the Rams began almost the moment the 2019 season ended for the Rams. Then the rumors switched to trading Gurley. Then the rumors reverted to outright releasing Gurley. But through it all, two things remained certain: Todd Gurley was still effective as an NFL running back, and the impediment to his future with the Rams was that god-awful contract that paid him among the top of NFL running backs, despite his performance.

The Rams never seemed to explore either restructuring nor renegotiating Gurley’s contract. Of course, in either instance, the player must agree to step up to the table to do so. But it seems the incentives existed for both parties to reach an agreement. The Rams would have saved on a huge cap hit in 2020, retained Gurley at a cheaper price, and had a chance to phase in a rookie rusher. Gurley would have earned more than his one-year $6 million prove-it valued deal with the Atlanta Falcons. Two sides aiming at the same goal never came together to make it happen. This leaves us with the number one foolish act in the past 12 months…

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