Georgia football: Los Angeles Rams release Todd Gurley, what’s next for the former Bulldog

Former Georgia football star running back Todd Gurley is without a team. The Los Angeles Rams released the three-time Pro Bowler Thursday afternoon.

The Los Angeles Rams decided to part ways for former Georgia football running back Todd Gurley on Thursday.

The Rams had been trying to trade Gurley, but when no one bit, the Rams elected to release him. Los Angeles would have had to pay Gurley a $10.5 million bonus if he had stayed with the team through Thursday, March 19.

The Rams ditch Gurley because of constant knee issues that have bothered him since the 2018 playoffs. The injuries limited him in the 2019 NFC Championship game and Super Bowl LIII. Gurley only reached a career-low 1,064 yards of offense in 2019.

Before the injuries hampered his career, Gurley peaked in 2017 with 2,093 yards of total offense with 19 touchdowns, and he was stellar again in 2018 compiling 1,831 total yards with 21 scores. After the disappointing 2019 season, he has 7,494 yards of offense in 73 games, 5,404 of which coming on the ground.

Gurley’s days as a full-time starter are seemingly over after five seasons in the league. No team wanted to accept his contract as he was set to earn $5.5 million in 2020. He just isn’t a workhorse running back anymore because of the knee problems that started during his time playing for Georgia football.

He’ll likely never be a 1,000-yard rusher ever again, but that doesn’t mean his NFL career is over. Gurley still has a lot left to give and several teams in the league could use a reliable backup. Gurley is more than capable of filling that role for any team in the NFL.