The Rams made an expensive mistake when they gave running back Todd Gurley a big second contract rather than simply letting him play out his rookie deal, and it’s a mistake that General Manager Les Snead indicated he won’t make again.
Snead said the Rams’ focus at the running back position going forward will be on having multiple backs, not shelling out a small fortune on one starter.
“What we do want to be is a team that utilizes more than one workhorse moving the ball, with different skill sets,” Snead said, via Greg Beacham of the Associated Press.
Snead acknowledged that Gurley’s salary cap number was simply too high to justify keeping him.
“Ultimately, our vision is to keep us contending not only in the short term, but the long term. Releasing Todd, we felt, was the best thing for the Rams,” Snead said.
The Rams currently have three running backs on the roster: Malcolm Brown, Darrell Henderson and John Kelly. They may add more before the season starts, but you can bet they won’t add any running backs who cost anything close to what Gurley cost.