The Los Angeles Rams began and ended minicamp today when Head Coach Sean McVay decided to curtail the three-day session after just one day. But when the media assembled, there was always going to be a single figure to demand attention: RB Todd Gurley.
For all the drama that began when he missed the final two games of the regular season, neither Gurley nor anyone else from the Rams has been particularly forthright in explaining what happened or, and at this point more importantly, what is happening with Todd and his knee.
Gurley again skirted around specifics in his media availability today:
[On what he’s been doing to prepare this offseason in his workouts]
Just working out. Typical stuff that I’ve always done.
[On if those workouts are different than in the past]
No. Same workouts. Whatever my trainer tells me to do.
[On his lack of participation in organized team activities (OTAs)]
I don’t feel like I need to do OTAs. I know what I’ve done. I know what I can do.
[On if he feels refreshed this offseason]
Yeah, I feel real refreshed. Just got out the sauna. Great day. Great workout.
[On what he’s done this offseason to get away from football]
What I’ve been doing the whole offseason. Enjoying myself. Being with my friends, my family. Travelling and taking care of business.
[On how eager he is for training camp to help stop questions about his knee]
I’m ready. Ready for camp. It’ll be here slowly but surely, and we’ll all be back together.
[On if he tunes out the media on his knee]
I’ve been hearing stuff all my life. Just whatever, growing up. Hearing comments or whatever that is. A lot of stuff don’t get to me. I feel like I do a great job. Got a great supporting cast. Whether it’s all my friends, my family, my teammates. Like I said. It’s football. It’s the game I’ve been playing my whole life, so it’s nothing new to me. I know what I’m capable of. I know what type of person I am. So it’s no big deal to me.
[On if the expectations or the noise is similar to what he faced coming out of college with a torn ACL]
I had bigger problems to worry about coming out of college. This is small.
[On the report that he’s going to play about 5 pounds lighter in 2019]
If I keep sweating the way I am, I’m definitely going to lose weight! It’s whatever. How I feel in the offseason. Probably the last couple of years going into the offseason I’ve dropped weight. I guess the older I get, the more weight I lose.
[On if he expects to be on the field for all of training camp]
I’m not sure what I’ll be doing. Sit down with coach. For the most part, training camp is training camp. Looking forward to that. Being out there. It’s a grind, but we’re all doing it together so it’s not too bad.
[On if his offseason regime has gone as planned]
Yeah, I’m up here anyway, but I feel like everything’s been going great. Staying in touch with coach and [Senior Director, Sports Medicine and Performance] Reggie [Scott] and the strength staff. Still see my teammates, so everything’s been going well.
[On how much he’s recovered from the wear and tear of 2018]
I’m fine. I’m training. I’m doing what I’m doing in the offseason, what I’ve always done up to this point. So it’s just part of getting ready for training camp and the season.
[On how much he’s helped rookie RB Darrell Henderson and backup RB Malcolm Brown]
It’s running back. You can’t teach us too much. You’re either going to break tackles and score touchdowns, or...obviously there’s the protection part. Those guys are pros. They’re professionals. You see what Malcolm has done since he’s been in the league. We’ve all seen what Darrell has done when he’s been at Memphis. [RB Justin Davis] JD. [RB John Kelly] JK. Those guys do a great job of helping each other, and then we got [Running Backs] Coach [Skip] Peete there to help us out as well. We all help each other out.
[On Henderson noting that Gurley told him not to be afraid of making mistakes because it’s how you learn]
It’s just something that I’ve just learned. It’s ok to make mistakes. But if you keep making them over and over, nine times out of ten you’re just done. You just can’t get it. The only way you’re going to know a lot of stuff is by experiencing it. When you experience it, you’re going to pass the test or you’re going to fail the test. It’s just about how you respond and come back from it the next time. Just go out there, and don’t be afraid. If you make a mistake, you make a mistake. At the end of the day, at least you know what you learned from. Then you can come back the next day and bounce back from there.
If Gurley or McVay were going to be more pointed in talking about his knee, it would have happened already.
At this point, we’re just going to have to wait and see how things play out into the regular season, because we’re not going to learn anything credible from the Rams this point.