Atlanta Falcons running back Todd Gurley, who agreed to a one-year, $5.5 million contract earlier this off-season, passed his physical with his new team.
League sources told ESPN and NFL Media on Tuesday that Gurley finally took his physical Monday in Atlanta and passed it. Gurley reached an agreement with the Falcons more than two months ago, but the league stopped player physicals and temporarily closed team facilities because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Gurley previously said he wasn’t concerned about passing the physical despite lingering questions regarding his surgically repaired left knee.
“I didn’t tear my ACL last year. This was six years ago,” Gurley said after joining the Falcons. “So, just been able to maintain that and just keep going each year.”
The Los Angeles Rams released Gurley, the 2017 NFL Offensive Player of the Year, in mid-March to create additional salary-cap space. Before his release, the tailback faced numerous questions about the status of his knee.
Gurley appeared in 15 of 16 regular-season games in 2019, although his touches decreased. The Rams’ front office never confirmed reports about Gurley, 25, having arthritis in the knee, which was surgically repaired in 2014.
Despite Gurley’s injury history, Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff expressed confidence the three-time Pro Bowl selection would pass his physical.
“He really takes care of his body well, and he’ll continue to work on it,” Dimitroff told the Falcons’ official website in April. “We’ll continue to be very mindful about what we are dealing with. We feel very comfortable with it. … He’s a hard-charging runner, and he’s an excellent football player.”
The Falcons signed Gurley to replace two-time Pro Bowl running back Devonta Freeman, who was released this off-season. The team’s current group of running backs includes Gurley, Ito Smith, Qadree Ollison and Brian Hill.
