Rams RB Kyren Williams' foot injury could be an unfortunate blast from the past

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay revealed that RB Kyren Williams could be out until training camp with a foot issue. While this could be a light injury that Williams returns from, could it also end up being an unfortunate blast from the past? Here's what McVay recently had to say about the injury:

"THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams will miss the team's offseason program due to a "foot issue," coach Sean McVay said Tuesday.

It's nothing to worry about, McVay said. He'll be ready to go for training camp, but there's a little issue when he was training. And [I'll] kind of just leave it at that. But nothing to be concerned about.

McVay joked that it was "probably good" Williams won't be on the field because that maniac works so hard, sometimes it's good to just be able to pull him back."

Sean McVay / Sarah Barshop

Six years ago, here's what the head coach had to say about former running back Todd Gurley's knee injury:

"Rams running back Todd Gurley’s knee has become enough of a problem to knock him out of the final two regular-season games. Coach Sean McVay doesn’t believe the absences will go any farther than that.

Based on just the information that I’m getting and just talking to Todd, I wouldn’t say that I’m concerned,” McVay told reporters on Friday. “I think we want to be really smart about that. The thing that’s great about Todd is he’s very decisive and he’s a great communicator with regards to how he’s feeling. I think he understands his body better than anybody else. I don’t get the sense that he’s concerned, but we want to be smart about this. If it’s feeling like something where he’s not going to be able to be the Todd Gurley that we’re accustomed to seeing, just based on the way that that thing is feeling, the smart thing for him -- number one -- and for our football team is to be able to rest him and get him back as quickly as possible whenever that is that our next game after the Niners will be."

Sean McVay / Pro Football Talk, 2018

Do we see the connection here? Furthermore, the LA Rams did draft RB Blake Corum in the 2024 NFL Draft. Could they be preparing for the possibility of another Todd Gurley situation? Williams has battled injuries throughout his short NFL career, and maybe with the selection of Corum, LA is preparing for the worst here.

In just 12 games in 2023, Kyren Williams rushed for 1,144 yards and 12 touchdowns. He added another 206 receiving yards and averaged a total of 112.5 scrimmage yards per game. With an improved offensive line, there's no telling just how good Williams can be, and with the Rams surely learning from their Todd Gurley mistake, Blake Corum could end up playing a bigger part in the offense than originally thought.

Sean McVay and surely every NFL head coach doesn't want to espouse poor injury outlooks for players. They may often be optimistic or pretty neutral when discussing them. But with McVay's previous words about Todd Gurley, and him saying things pretty similar about Kyren Williams, you have to wonder if this could be an unfortunate blast from the past.