Falcons’ GM Confident in Todd Gurley’s Knee

On Monday, the Falcons officially agreed to terms with the three-time Pro Bowler, Todd Gurley. However, he still has to pass his physical that has been put on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak.

There have been lingering questions regarding Gurley’s knee problems and whether or not he’ll even pass the exam. Falcons general manager, Thomas Dimitroff spoke to local media on Tuesday and is confident in Gurley’s health.

“We looked closely at it,” Dimitroff said on Tuesday. “We have language in our contracts that are going to protect us and the player. If the player comes in and has an issue that he might not pass a physical, then that’s something that we’ll address then. We’re not looking at it that way [of Gurley possibly failing the physical]. In our mind, we’re thinking about Todd Gurley coming in … he really takes care of his body well and he’ll continue to work on it.

Will He Pass The Physical?

NFL physicals are nothing like what we went through in high school before trying out for a sport. They’re much more detailed.

A physical for each player typically lasts three or four hours. It consists of bloodwork, x-rays and MRIs, eyesight and hearing, and a lot of pushing and pulling and questioning every bone in a player’s body.

Gurley’s physical will be focused around his knee, which he had surgery on after tearing his ACL. And Dimitroff has high hopes in him passing the exam.

“On the contract as far as the confidence level in passing the physical, I feel good about that,” Dimitroff said. “Of course, we have to be particular about it. We look at it very closely, and I feel good about that.

“As far as him contributing to our team if and when — which I’m going to say ‘when’ he passes our physical — I think he’s going to do a very good job contributing to this offense. Thinking about all the skills that he brings to the table for us, not only as a runner but as a guy that can catch ball, again we are very encouraged by what we think he can add to us.”

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Saving Gurley’s Knee

Dimitroff clearly has a plan to not solely rely on using Gurley as the only playmaker. He’s confident in his backups and other guys on offense.

“I think Todd is explosive; I think Todd can still tote the rock very, very well and he’s going to be a big-time playmaker,” Dimitroff said. “I think we have a group of running backs that can contribute. I’m a big believer that it’s not just about one person running all the runs, of course. We’re a big mix-up team. We think that’s a very important part of making sure that we rotate our guys through there.

“It’s not meaning that we won’t look for another back in the draft that potentially has speed. That’s something we’ll continue to look at. But we feel really good about the group of running backs we have, with Todd Gurley at the front of the line.”

Believing in Gurley

A lot of Falcons and Georgia fans have high hopes for Gurley to come out and play a role in turning Atlanta’s 7-9 season around. Dimitroff believes he’s good enough to do that.

“We’ll continue to be very mindful about what we are dealing with. We feel very comfortable with it. Of course, this is a tough game and it’s a warrior game. We know that. … But he’s a hard-charging runner. And he’s an excellent football player. We are counting on him to be an excellent football player for us.”

Only time will tell.

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