By Lincoln May
This offseason the Atlanta Falcons signed Todd Gurley. He is a 2017 offensive player of the year. The Falcons signed him to a one year $5.5 million dollar deal. The only thing that he had left to finalize his contract was his physical. He passed the physical on Monday but people still have concerns about his left knee. No one in the Falcons’ organization has a concern though. The Falcons are trying to get a running game going. They released Devonte Freeman and needed a new running back. The Falcons’ running backs placed 30th last season.
This isn’t the first time Gurley has been to Georgia. He played at The University of Georgia. He was on a Super Bowl bound team as well. The 2018-19 Rams went to the Super Bowl. But Gurley only had 11 carries for 34 yards. “I try not to press the issue about nothing, so that’s just kind of, just sit back and do my job,” Gurley told Chris Long on Chris’s podcast. He also said “Like it’s not my job to tell who to give me the ball, so if it happens, it happens. I’m not going to b*** about anything. I’m just going to keep quiet and do my part. But when I get the ball, you know I’m going to do good with it for the most part, especially when stuff is going good. But I don’t know what happened, man. All I know is I’m with the Falcons now.”
The Falcons’ Quarterback, Matt Ryan, said he was impressed with Gurley while working out with him in California. “The thing that struck me the most, though, is how smart of a player he is, and his ability to retain information and not have to circle back on things the next day,” Ryan said during an interview with ESPN. “If I told him once how we were trying to work something or a route concept or what we were expecting, he doesn’t forget it. He was back the next day, on top of it and doing it the right way.”
Gurley is coming off a rough season. He had a career low 857 yards. He averaged 3.8 yards a carry. That was his second lowest in his career. You could have said Gurley was one of the best running backs in the NFL before his knee problems in 2018. The Falcons could be a genius in signing Gurley if he goes back to leading the league in yards from scrimmage like he did in 2017, when he got the Offensive Player of the year award. This year could be a break out season for the Falcons with weapons such as Julio Jones, Hayden Hurst, Calvin Ridley, and Todd Gurley. Will they go back to the Super Bowl? That is the question.
