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Todd Gurley’s time with the Atlanta Falcons was brief, a generally unproductive season in 2020. Gurley hasn’t played a down in the NFL since, but he won’t completely rule out a return to the gridiron.
Gurley, who is still just 27, recently spoke about his life away from football and the prospect of maybe one day restarting his playing career. The former All-Pro with the Los Angeles Rams was speaking in his current role as part-owner of The Beasts, a franchise under the umbrella of the Fan Controlled Football league.
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Gurley Leaves Door Open for NFL Comeback
While he’s perfectly content where he is, Gurley wouldn’t slam the door shut on an NFL comeback when he spoke with Keith Kocinski of NBC LX, per Kocinski’s colleague Mike Gavin:
I like doing stuff on my time. I like doing whatever I want to do. I’ve never been the one that liked to be controlled. I like to be in control of my own path. That’s the best thing about being in the position I’m in. If I want to try to play again, I can try to pursue that. Or if I don’t, I can just relax and chill at the house and spend a lot more time with my family because that’s what it’s all about at the end of the day. And then at the end of the day, still becoming a businessman and still venturing off in that next phase of my life.
Gurley didn’t play in 2021 and he described what his routine is like without a regular NFL workload: “Football wise, just taking it day-by-day. Being part of ownership groups of different companies, that’s what I’m focusing on. Spending a lot more time with my family. I ain’t worried about no football. I keep it real with you. I’m chilling and enjoying myself.”
It’s a big change for Gurley, who entered the pros as a first-round pick of the Rams back in 2015. He enjoyed an All-Pro season in 2017, rushing for 1,305 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Gurley was even more productive in the red zone a year later, scoring 17 touchdowns and averaging 4.9 yards per rush. Those numbers helped the Rams reach Super Bowl LIII, where Gurley was on the losing end to the New England Patriots.
He was in the role of spectator when the Rams returned to the big game last season. Gurley watched his old team lift the Lombardi Trophy after a 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
While he missed the championship boat, Gurley left a scoring legacy unmatched by players in the last six years, per NFL on CBS:
He remains happy about his decision to step away from the game: “There was never not one time where I watched a game and was like, ‘I wish I was out there.’ I appreciated my time in the league and I’ve done things I could have never even dreamed about.”
Gurley achieved great things with the Rams, but his time in Atlanta was less successful, despite being no less eventful.
Gurley Couldn’t Salvage Career With Falcons
The Falcons took a chance when they gave Gurley a one-year deal worth $6 million in 2020. He’d been released from a lucrative contract with the Rams amid concerns about his ability to stay healthy.
Those concerns had dogged Gurley ever since his days as a star at the University of Georgia. A serious knee injury in college raised doubts about Gurley’s longevity at the next level, doubts compounded by reports the player had developed arthritis in his surgically repaired left knee by the time the Falcons signed him.
Gurley stayed healthy enough to start 15 games for the Falcons, but his homecoming didn’t quite hit the heights anticipated. He rushed for 678 yards, averaging just 3.5 per carry.
There were some highs, like Gurley rushing for nine touchdowns. One of those scores came during a defeat to NFC South rivals the Carolina Panthers in Week 5, but was enough to put Gurley into some select company among the league’s all-time greats, per ESPN Stats & Info:
Yet for all the moments like this, there were plenty of lows. Like when Gurley made an error of judgement against the Detroit Lions in Week 7.
When trying to run out the clock, Gurley fell into the end zone, instead of just short of the goal-line. Although he scored, he left enough time for Matthew Stafford to drive the Lions to a winning score in a 23-22 victory.
The blunder made an indelible image in the minds of many connected to the Falcons, including D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
This was the signature moment of a disappointing, 4-12 season for the Falcons, that proved to be the final one for head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff.
It also proved to be last campaign Gurley played in the NFL. He was candid and philosophical describing what went wrong to Carl Dukes and Mike Bell on Dukes and Bell 929:
Gurley may change his mind and opt to give his playing career a second act, but the Falcons needn’t be in a rush to welcome him back if he does. Things look strong in the backfield thanks to the presence of the returning Cordarrelle Patterson, veteran signing Damien Williams and fifth-round pick Tyler Allgeier.
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