Rams running back Todd Gurley avoided the physically unable to perform list at the start of training camp, which was an encouraging sign about the 10th overall pick’s chances of helping St. Louis move the ball during his rookie season.
Being on the active roster isn’t the same thing as being a fully active member of the roster, however. Gurley is only doing individual work at Rams practices right now and spent Tuesday’s first padded practice of the summer as an observer rather than a participant. Coach Jeff Fisher wouldn’t outline a specific timeline for when that would change, saying only that the team is continuing to take the long view when it comes to letting Gurley loose.
“This is going to be a process,” Fisher said, via Yahoo Sports. “It’s not going to be a day-to-day thing. We’re looking at this as a long-term now. When I say long term, I mean let’s just go week to week and go through the preseason and we’ll see where we are when the season starts. He’s not had any setbacks. He’s getting walkthrough reps. He’s participating in all the meetings, and he’s doing fine. If we made it his choice, he’d be out there right now. To a certain extent, we have to hold him back just to protect him.”
Fisher said he didn’t know if Gurley would play in the preseason, but that “practice reps will suffice” for the running back to show the team that he’s ready for game action in the regular season. It looks like it will be a little while before decisions are made on any of those fronts, however.