How Falcons Can Make Todd Gurley Homecoming a Reality
By Mark Powell
Todd Gurley's shelf life can't possibly be up, right?
Despite a knee injury which limited his playing time for both the 2018 Rams' Super Bowl run and heaps of snaps during the 2019 campaign, the running back and former NFL Offensive Player of the Year remains just 25 years old. On Thursday, the Rams let the Georgia product go to avoid paying him $10 million just two years after signing him to a lucrative four-year contract extension. That deal will go down as one of the worst financial decisions in recent memory now that Gurley won't get a chance to prove himself in LA in 2020.
With adequate time to heal and a chip on his shoulder, Gurley should return to where it all started.
A lot of can change with the draft next month, but as things currently stand, Todd Gurley would be awesome with the Falcons.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 19, 2020
An area of need and a homecoming for Gurley. Just 25 years old and still a really talented player.
Gurley's days as a bellcow back might actually be behind him, but perhaps he can still be an impact player when sharing the backfield. The Rams felt pressured to give Gurley an extraordinary number of carries due to their looming mistake. Assuming the Falcons can convince the North Carolina native and former UGA running back to sign for an affordable prove-it deal, he'll have a tremendous opportunity to be a reliable cog in an offense that already features Matt Ryan, Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley.
Atlanta also JUST released Devonta Freeman, so the fit is there.
My understanding is among two of Todd Gurley's desirable destinations recently has been Atlanta and Miami, per source; though the #Dolphins just brought in Jordan Howard. However, we'll see now, how other potential options open up for Gurley, or how the market reacts.
— ig: josinaanderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 19, 2020
The Rams couldn't convince a single team to give up draft compensation for Gurley, and that's because everyone must have known this day was coming. Georgia fans would go to the ends of the Earth if it meant they could watch one of their program's greats revive his career just a jaunt down the road from Athens. And we can't rule it out just yet.