21 Todd Gurley RB

Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said that he won't be able to confirm what Gurley's workload will be until the running back can be evaluated in person, Kelsey Conway of the team's official site reports.

Given that Gurley has still yet to take his physical with the Falcons as a result of the ongoing pandemic, Koetter was unwilling to guess at precisely how often he is expected to play. "He can do everything. He's an excellent runner, he's good in the pass game [and] he can protect," Koetter explained. "The main question no one seems to know is, 'What's his health status? What is his workload?'" Gurley accounted for a career-worst 1,064 scrimmage yards during 2019, causing many to attribute his reduced productivity to a report that indicated the presence of an arthritic component to his knee. Now heading back to the state of his college alma matter, Gurley's health remains a question mark as he begins a journey to revitalize his career within the Falcons' high-powered offense.

Gurley still hasn't taken a physical exam to finalize his deal with the Falcons, Andrew Siciliano of NFL.com reports.

Gurley remains in California, unable to meet with team doctors in the midst of a pandemic. The Falcons don't expect this to be a major issue, as they presumably signed him to a one-year, $5.5 million contract with the understanding that his oft-discussed left knee is far from ideal. While the quality of his play hasn't exactly been consistent, Gurley did play 14 or more regular-season games each of the past four years for the Rams. There is some small chance, however, that a physical exam could nullify his agreement to sign with Atlanta.

Gurley and the Falcons agreed to terms on a one-year, $6 million contract Monday, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The 2017 AP Offensive Player of the Year committed to Atlanta just one day after being let go by the Rams on March 19, but the transaction was not officially passed through the Falcons' transaction wire until Monday, when the two sides landed on a finalized agreement. A tweet from Adam Schefter of ESPN indicates that Gurley has still not yet taken nor passed a physical with the Falcons' medical staff, so the condition of his left knee will be of great interest upon return to organized team activities. The addition of the three-time Pro Bowl back provides Atlanta with one of the NFL's most explosive groups of skill-position players, though Gurley's workload may have to be managed as it was last year when he garnered just 254 offensive touches -- a near 20 percent reduction from his 2018 touch count of 315.

Gurley has agreed to a one-year contract with the Falcons, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports.

Per D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the running back is set to earn $5 million in 2020. The Rams released Gurley on Thursday and it didn't take long for the 2017 NFL Offensive Player of the Year to find a new job. He'll now top the Falcons' running back depth chart, with the team having parted ways with previous starter Devonta Freeman on Monday. Gurley, who turns 26 in August, comes with some concerns with regard to the soundness of his left knee -- with his deal pending a physical, per Jordan Schultz of ESPN -- but when healthy, he's proven to be a dynamic and productive back.

The Rams released Gurley on Thursday.

The team was facing a 4 p.m. ET deadline for $10.5 million of Gurley's contract to become guaranteed. The Rams will instead absorb a huge dead cap hit, parting ways with Gurley before he ever actually played a game on his four-year, $57.5 million extension. The decision to give him an early extension helped keep the peace at the time, but it came back to burn the Rams less than two years later. Gurley will become an unrestricted free agent, while the Rams are left with Malcolm Brown and Darrell Henderson (ankle) in the backfield.

Gurley is believed to be on the trading block, Lindsay Jones of The Athletic reports.

Gurley is entering the first season of a four-year, $57.5 million extension, with a complex contract structure that gives him strong protection through 2021. It's easy to see why the cap-strapped Rams want to trade him away after a disappointing 2019 campaign, but it isn't so easy to figure out which teams might be willing to take him. The Rams have Malcolm Brown, Darrell Henderson (ankle) and John Kelly on the depth chart behind Gurley.

Coach Sean McVay isn't sure if Gurley will have his reps managed again in 2020, Gregg Bell of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

For all the discussion about his problematic left knee, Gurley missed just one game in 2019 while averaging 52.5 snaps and 17 touches per contest, losing practice reps rather than game reps. Of course, he dropped to 3.8 yards per carry and 4.2 per target, with his lack of explosiveness and poor blocking in front of him both contributing to the lackluster efficiency. Gurley's contract should keep him safe on the Rams' roster for at least one more season, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll retain a three-down role. The team could look to get Malcolm Brown and/or Darrell Henderson more involved.

Gurley ran for 68 yards on 20 carries and hauled in both of his targets for 21 receiving yards during Sunday's 31-24 win against the Cardinals.

In comparison to Gurley's 2017 and 2018 seasons in which he averaged 1,962 scrimmage yards and 20 touchdowns per year, 2019 will go down in fantasy annals as a disappointing campaign for the two-time All-Pro. Though his usage rate was cut by 19.4 percent in relation to his 2018 workload, Gurley still compiled 1,064 scrimmage yards and 14 total touchdowns -- an output that would be considered a career year for many NFL running backs. Malcolm Brown's three-yard TD run during the second quarter Sunday came as an unwelcome surprise for those banking on Gurley for fantasy championships Week 17. Throughout the year, however, Gurley proved capable of playing through what was described during the 2019 offseason to be an "arthritic component to his knee" while also maintaining the majority of the RB workload over backfield mates Brown and Darrell Henderson (ankle).

Gurley rushed 15 times for 48 yards and two touchdowns and failed to come up with either of his two targets in the Rams' 34-31 loss to the 49ers on Saturday.

Gurley averaged a pedestrian 3.2 yards per carry, but his second straight multi-touchdown effort rewarded fantasy managers who deployed him in their title games. The Pro Bowl running back has just 68 yards to show for 26 carries over the last pair of contests, and unless he can rattle off at least 211 rushing yards at the expense of the Cardinals in Week 17, he'll endure his first sub-1,000-yard season since 2016.

Gurley carried the ball 11 times for 20 yards and a touchdown and caught three of seven targets for 18 yards and a second TD in Sunday's 44-21 loss to the Cowboys. He also ran for a two-point conversion.

The Rams' offensive line was overwhelmed for most of the game, leaving Gurley with little room to operate, but he still found the end zone in the second and fourth quarters to put together a strong performance at a crucial time for those with fantasy shares in him. The running back has scored four TDs in the last three games, but he remains 259 rushing yards away from his third straight 1,000-yard campaign, a milestone he'll try to reach over the final two games of 2019.

Gurley rushed 23 times for 79 yards and a touchdown, adding 34 receiving yards on four receptions in Sunday's 28-12 win over Seattle.

The NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that Gurley would finally have the reigns taken off and be treated like the "bell cow that he is" prior to Sunday's contest, and the Rams held up their end of the bargain by giving their best offensive weapon 27 touches. It was just the second time this season that the 25-year-old received at least 20 carries and just the third time he touched the ball a minimum of 20 times in a single game. The reduced workload appeared to be premeditated after the superstar broke down -- along with the Rams' Super Bowl hopes -- toward the end of the 2018 campaign. The team is sitting at 8-5 -- behind San Francisco and Seattle -- in the toughest division in football, so coach Sean McVay is backed into a corner and will have to rely on Gurley if he wants to return to the playoffs for the third time in his tenure as head coach. Next week's opponent, the Dallas Cowboys, are more vulnerable to opposing rushing attacks, so Gurley could be in store for a big fantasy day if his heavy workload sticks going forward.

The Rams plan to treat Gurley "like the bell cow that he is" over their final four games of the season, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

After Gurley's arthritic left knee cost him some game action late in 2018 and limited his effectiveness in the postseason, the Rams have deliberately managed his snaps and touch count carefully for most of the season. The Rams have been ramping up Gurley's workload in recent weeks, however, as he's logged his two highest touch totals of the season (28 in Week 11 and 20 in Week 13) and has been productive while doing so. Citing the Rams' internal practice metrics for tracking players' speed, Rapoport notes that Gurley "is as fast now as he was in Week 1," which should offer further incentive for the 7-5 team to ride its feature back heavily over the final quarter of the season in pursuit of a playoff spot. Assuming the Rams follow through with that plan, Gurley could be poised to once again swing several fantasy playoff matchups, just as he memorably did in 2017.

Gurley rushed the ball 19 times for 95 yards and a touchdown in the team's Week 13 win over the Cardinals. He also added one reception for 20 yards.

Gurley lacked explosive rushes -- his longest run went for 11 yards -- but he consistently gained chunks of seven and eight yards. As a result, he surpassed 100 total yards from scrimmage for the second time in his past three games after reaching that mark just once in his first eight contests. Despite that positivity, the Rams are still monitoring Gurley's workload, as he did not receive a carry after the conclusion of the team's first drive in the fourth quarter. That usage was likely dictated by the blowout nature of the contest, so Gurley may finally be fully unleashed in Week 14 for a must-win contest against the Seahawks.

Gurley rushed six times for 22 yards and caught all three of his targets for minus-three yards in Monday night's 45-6 loss to the Ravens.

Gurley entered Monday coming off a season-high 28 touches, but after the Rams fell behind early, the game script worked against him. In the end, Los Angeles passed 37 times and ran it just nine, but Gurley struggled to make an impact even when he got the ball. In what had already been a disappointing season to date, his 19 scrimmage yards marked a low point. Of course, the Rams' offense was slowed in general, but both it and Gurley will still aim for big improvements in Week 13 versus the Cardinals.

Gurley rushed 25 times for 97 yards and a touchdown while catching three passes for 36 yards in Sunday's 17-7 win over Chicago.

Gurley has seemingly been held back all year in terms of usage, but was unleashed for a season-high 28 touches (previous high of 19) in a tight contest. Perhaps the Rams' underwhelming 5-4 record forced coach Sean McVay to lean on his best offensive weapon after it appeared that he was trying to conserve his star back in order to avoid another postseason breakdown like we saw in 2018. The 25-year-old proved that he can handle a heavy workload and post an elite stat line, and perhaps this game is a sign that McVay is ready to take off the training wheels and unleash Gurley on the league down the stretch. We will get a chance to see what kind of workload last season's top fantasy back can sustain against the Ravens in a Week 12 Monday night battle.

Gurley carried the ball 12 times for 73 yards and failed to catch any of his four targets in Sunday's 17-12 loss to the Steelers.

While he had success when he did get the ball, Gurley once again had his workload limited, particularly in the second half after Rams center Brian Allen (knee) left the game. Meanwhile, Malcolm Brown and Darrell Henderson combined for nine carries, managing only 14 rushing yards between them. Gurley has yet to see 20 touches in a game this season, and that may not change next week when the Rams host a Bears squad trying to stay in the playoff picture.

Gurley ran for 44 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries during Sunday's 24-10 win over the Bengals.

Gurley made his presence felt on either side of halftime, first digging the Rams out of the shade of their own goalpost with a 20-yard bruising run before halftime and then capping off the Rams first drive of the second half with a three-yard run on a toss play. Though the stats don't show it, Sunday was actually Gurley's most efficient game since Week 1 -- the first time in that span in which he averaged at least four yards per carry. The Georgia product has not reached 75 total yards in a game since the opener, but he's scored in all but one game during that stretch. Gurley doesn't seem like he's going to manhandle defenses like he used to, but he retains good value by inevitably piling up red-zone touches and picking up a score. Gurley has a whopping 15 red-zone touches over his last two games.

Gurley ran for 41 yards on 18 carries and turned his only target into a 13-yard receiving touchdown during Sunday's 37-10 win against the Falcons.

The 25-year-old back has been held under 4.0 yards per carry in five straight games, but he's paid dividends to fantasy investors by logging 14 receptions and six total touchdowns since Week 2. Rookie Darrell Henderson garnered seven second-half carries with the Rams holding a multi-possession lead throughout the third and fourth quarters, but Gurley appeared healthy enough to command an even greater workload than he did, coming off a quadriceps injury that kept him out against the 49ers in Week 6. Upcoming is a matchup against a Bengals defense that entered the weekend ranking among the NFL's six worst units in carries, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns allowed to opposing running backs.

Gurley (quadriceps) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game in Atlanta, Adam Caplan of SiriusXM Radio reports.

Gurley upgraded to full practice participation Friday, while Malcolm Brown (ankle) once again was held out and now is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game. The Rams will use Darrell Henderson as their No. 2 running back against a leaky Atlanta defense that's given up 31 points per game. However, the Falcons actually have been decent against the run, ranking ninth in yards per carry allowed (3.9).

Coach Sean McVay expects Gurley (quadriceps) to play in Sunday's game against the Falcons, Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com reports.

On the other hand, McVay views fellow running back Malcolm Brown (quadriceps) as doubtful, likely setting up Darrell Henderson for some degree of usage for a second straight week. Gurley was a limited practice participant each day this week, so he'll probably be listed as questionable on the final injury report.