Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher on RB Todd Gurley: "I'm Not Going To Play Him For At Least The Rest Of Preseason"

From Nick Wagoner over at ESPN:

Fisher was asked to confirm that he never considered playing Gurley in the preseason opener.

"Correct," Fisher told reporters. "Nor am I going to play [Todd Gurley] next week or the week after. I'm not going to play him for at least the rest of preseason. But the warmup benefit is certainly part of his rehab, and it's really good experience for him."

Now. I've said it a million times. This doesn't mean Todd Gurley absolutely, certainly without fail won't play in the preseason. It means Jeff Fisher's public stance is that he won't play.

It's not a bad tactic. If you're comfortable with his progress and you allow him to sit the entire preseason, there's nothing amiss. He's allowed the full rest to continue to rehab and, when called upon, be as ready for contact as possible. If somehow he exceeds far and away on the medical front, you can ignore your public comments and just suggest it's due to Gurley's unbelievable physical condition. What you can't do is expect him to be back and then deal with the pressure of a setback.

There's no reason to push him back sooner than later. There's every reason to wait until he's fully healthy and his ACL injury is something to remember from his past rather than a reason for concern in the present.

See you when it counts, Just Todd Gurley.