Falcons officially sign RB Todd Gurley

The Falcons signed Todd Gurley a long time ago, at least in our minds. The only trick was that it wasn’t quite official yet.

Today, though? Today the agreement is officially official, which means you can put Gurley down as the starting running back in Atlanta in pen, pending a physical.

Gurley is an intriguing addition for the Falcons, though not one without risks. The fact that he has still not gotten a physical sets off all sorts of alarm bells given the way the Rams handled his workload a year ago, and given that it is well-known that he has been dealing with arthritis for years. It’s impossible not to love Gurley the person and Gurley the back when he’s operating at full capacity, but don’t be surprised if the Falcons sign or draft insurance for him down the line. The idea that this was a bit of a PR move is not alleviated by this report from Adam Schefter.

If Gurley’s reduced production in 2019 really did come by way of the Rams being overly cautious and/or stupid about his usage, his contract is going to be a steal for an Atlanta team that was in major need of talent at the position. His talent really can’t be oversold.

Gurley is coming off a year with over 1,000 combined yards and 14 touchdowns, but it was the least productive year of his career amid the Rams taking it easy on him and waves of concern about the state of his knee. In the years prior, Gurley had never had fewer than 1,200 combined yards, and in 2017 and 2018 he had nearly 4,000 combined yards and a combined 40 touchdowns. Getting anywhere near that kind of production would make this offense truly lethal, though even a reduced Gurley is a nice fit for what Dirk Koetter wants to do with his ground game.

Welcome aboard (officially), Todd Gurley! University of Georgia fans may now celebrate in earnest.