Todd Gurley not being managed, just not playing as much

[Rampage]

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Rams coach Sean McVay says they’re not keeping running back Todd Gurley on a pitch count.

Which means Ezekiel Elliott‘s new deal aside, Gurley is still the highest-paid part-time running back in the league.

Via Lindsey Thiry of ESPN, McVay disputed the notion that they were managing Gurley’s workload because of knee problems.

“We’re not doing anything like that,” McVay said. “It’s more along the lines of each week presents a different approach. It’s kind of the feel the flow of the game.”

Gurley had 14 carries for 43 yards in Sunday’s win over the Browns, and through three games, he has 44 carries for 203 yards, and just four catches for eight yards.

That would put him on pace for 1,125 yards from scrimmage this year, after he had 1,831 last year and 2,093 in 2017 (when McVay arrived and modernized their offense). Gurley has one touchdown after leading the league with 21 last year, as he’s sharing the load more with Malcolm Brown.

“I have to do better about being able to give him a chance to really get more into a rhythm than what I’ve enabled him to do in these first three games,” McVay said of Gurley. “. . .I think it’s worked out good in terms of the balance. But like I said, I think there is some things you’d like to do a lot better job of giving Todd an opportunity to really get going.”

If they don’t, it means one of two things seems likely to be true: He’s either still bothered by his much-discussed and much-denied knee problem, or the Rams made a mistake giving him a four-year, $57.5 million extension.