Much has been made about Todd Gurley and his knee, which caused him issues in the 2018 postseason. The Rams didn’t do much to quiet those rumors when they tabbed Memphis running back Darrell Henderson with the No. 70 pick in the draft.
The team, however, is adamant the pick of Henderson has nothing to do with Gurley’s status, Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams writes. Though the team did mention monitoring the perennial Pro Bowl back’s workload.
“Like we have said all along, we anticipate Todd being a huge part of this like he has been the last couple of years,” head coach Sean McVay said. “As far as managing the workload, those are things that we talk about with Todd and as you continue to get educated on, is that something that we should do for the long haul or something that is or isn’t going to affect Todd most importantly and how does that affect our team? But we added a really good playmaker was a big thing.”
Henderson was one of college football’s stars in 2018, rushing for 1,909 yards and 22 touchdowns on just 214 carries. His 8.9 yards per rush was no fluke, as he posted the exact same average as a sophomore in 2017.
It will be interesting how the Rams handle their backfield in 2019. In addition to Gurley and Henderson, the team also matched an offer for running back Malcolm Brown.
Heres’ more from around the NFC:
- Panthers wide receiver D.J. Moore has hired Drew Rosenhaus to represent him, per Sports Business Journal’s Liz Mullen (via Twitter). Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey will team up in repping the Maryland product, who posted 788 yards on 55 receptions in 2018.
- The Cowboys are expected to be extremely cautious with cornerback Byron Jones, who underwent offseason hip surgery, the Dallas Morning News’ Jon Machota tweets. Machota mentioned Jones, a breakout star in his first season as a cornerback, will be “highly managed,” but they do expect him to be ready for the start of the season.
- Sticking in Dallas, new slot receiver Randall Cobb said he signed with the team because he wanted to play on a contender, Machota writes. “Once I talked to everybody I knew this was the place,” Cobb said. “I definitely believe in this team. I felt like I wanted to be on a team that was a contender and I definitely believe that we have the ability, it’s just putting the pieces together.” Cobb replaces Cole Beasley in the slot, after the latter left for Buffalo early in the 2019 offseason.
- The Giants will bring back veteran cornerback Janoris Jenkins, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan tweets. Though the team drafted three cornerbacks, Giants general manager Dave Gettleman left no doubt Jenkins would be back, saying, “Janoris has a bunch of puppies he has to train.”
Okay 19M in cap space left. Restructure Tyron & Zack Martin gain 15M. Bring back Mo Claiborne, Tre Boston, and Eric Berry.
Trade a 6th for Darron Lee? Or sign Zach Brown/Te’o.
All 1-year deals.
1) This team needs as much money as it is to resign all their young talent. Why would they take out a $15M loan to sign a bunch of past-prime players and draft busts?
2) Why are you so desperate to patch up the defense in the first place? It was already the strength of their team and they went heavy defense in the draft and FA.
3) Why are you looking for LBs in particular? This is the same team that doesn’t have a starting spot for Sean Lee. Only thing you could argue that they could use is a SAM, and yet you’re looking for them to pick up a 218 pound LBer …
4) If they’re freeing up cap space, they’d just extend Byron Jones or Amari Cooper.
5) How much do you want to spend to have Mo Claiborne compete to be the 5th CB?
6) I’d take Tre Boston after May 14th. It won’t take $15M to sign him, but I’d take him if he’s a fit.
7) Eric Berry is 31 years old, has played 3 games the last two years, and has a bone spur in his achilles that isn’t going anywhere. All 32 fanbases need to give up on the idea that 2016 Eric Berry is on the open market right now.