Rams' Todd Gurley: Dealing with arthritic component

Gurley's trainer Travelle Gaines said the running back has an "arthritic component to his knee" but should be fine for the 2019 season, Dave Richard of CBS Sports reports. "Everybody knew when Todd came out of Georgia that there would be some kind of arthritic component to his knee, which is part of every surgery whether it's a shoulder, a knee, an ankle," Gaines said. "He's now at the year-five mark, all we're doing is managing that."

Gaines makes an interesting point that it isn't any surprise for Gurley to require maintenance on his surgically repaired left knee. The public discussion is a recent development, but the Rams likely have been aware of the potential for problems all along. Whatever concerns the team might have didn't prevent Gurley from averaging 22.7 touches per game over the past two seasons, nor did they stop the front office from giving him a four-year, $57.5 million extension that includes full guarantees for his 2019 and 2020 salaries. The re-signing of Malcolm Brown and drafting of Darrell Henderson hint at a reduced workload, but Gurley still figures to handle the lead role. He said last week that he plans to practice with the team during training camp, after sticking to an individual program throughout the offseason. Coach Sean McVay already said he won't use his key starters -- presumably including Gurley -- in preseason games.