Rams cut Todd Gurley with 4 years left on contract
The Los Angeles Rams released former All-Pro running back Todd Gurley, the team announced Thursday.
The Rams parted ways with Gurley before $10.5 million in salary and bonuses for the 2020 season were set to become guaranteed. They shopped him on the trade market but couldn't find a taker.
It appears the news caught Gurley by surprise.
Damn I got fired on my day off😂 #QuaratineAndChill
— Todd Gurley II (@TG3II) March 19, 2020
Longtime teammate and two-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald also didn't take too kindly to the development.
🤬
— AD_99 (@AaronDonald97) March 19, 2020
L.A. reportedly released Gurley with a post-June 1 designation in order to spread the dead-money cap hits over two seasons, according to ESPN's Field Yates.
The Rams also released linebacker Clay Matthews, who spent one season with the club, a source told Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.
Gurley led the NFL in rushing touchdowns in 2017 and 2018, earning first-team All-Pro nods for his efforts. He was the 2017 NFL Offensive Player of the Year, and for a short period was hailed as the best running back in football.
An arthritic knee began to derail Gurley down the stretch of the 2018 season. Despite the Rams' insistence that he was healthy, he split carries with C.J. Anderson through their run to Super Bowl LIII.
In 2019, Gurley looked nothing like the MVP candidate he had been in seasons past. He rushed for 857 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 3.8 yards per carry. Without him carrying his typical load, the Rams' offense labored.
Gurley signed a four-year, $60-million extension with L.A. in July 2018, making him the highest-paid running back in the NFL. The extension officially began Wednesday, the first day of the 2020 league year. The 25-year-old will become a free agent for the first time in his career.
Over his five seasons with the Rams, Gurley ranked second in the league in rushing yards (5,405), first in rushing touchdowns (58), and second in yards from scrimmage (7,494).