Cap-crunched Rams release Todd Gurley after trade fails to materialize

© Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

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Don’t overpay your running backs, folks. As NFL teams are learning the hard way, it tends not to end well. The Rams signed the 2017 AP Offensive Player of the Year in Todd Gurley to a monumental, four-year, $57.5 million extension with $45 million in guarantees and $21.95 million due at signing in 2018. After an injury-riddled year in 2019, the Rams, in a bid to save $10.5 million.

He still has another $8.4 million due to him over the next two seasons in bonus money alone, which is why the Rams reportedly tried and failed to trade the 25-year-old. Before the Gurley move (they’re also reportedly shopping Brandin Cooks), the Rams had just below $10 million in cap space.

That means the Rams either cut him, pay him $7.55 million (and absorb $12.6M in dead cap on top of that). Or they go forward, pay him $13.05 million for 2020, and face the same sort of call next year (albeit a less-expensive one).

So yeah, of course, they're trying trade him.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 19, 2020

The following is from the Rams:

Gurley, 25, was the Rams’ first-round pick out of Georgia in 2015. The Tarboro, North Carolina native started 72 games for the franchise, rushing for 5,404 yards and 58 touchdowns. His 70 total touchdowns rank fourth in team history, while his total rushing yards are fifth-most in team history.

Following the 2017 and 2018 seasons, Gurley earned back-to-back First Team All-Pro recognition from the Associated Press. He also was also named to the Pro Bowl three times during his Rams tenure. In 2019, Gurley’s 12 rushing touchdowns moved him into a tie with Marshall Faulk for most career rushing touchdowns in team history.