From 2017-2018, no one found the end zone more than running back Todd Gurley.
The No. 10 overall pick of the 2015 draft, Gurley scored a whopping 40 touchdowns in that span — 19 in 2017 and another 21 in 2018, despite missing three games that year.
But just a couple of years later, Gurley played his last season for the Falcons.
Still 29 for another month and change, Gurley recently joined the 25/10 Show, hosted by LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson. While McCoy and Jackson joked that Gurley could still make a comeback if he wanted to, Gurley confirmed he’s retired by saying “hell no” to that option.
Gurley seemed at peace when explaining how his last few seasons in the league transpired.
“I remember when I signed my extension with the Rams [in 2018], the agent was breaking it down,” Gurley said. “He was like, ‘You get this, you get this amount, and then if they cut you, you’ll be 26 with a lot of money and you’re young.’ And then the [Rams’] contract guy was like, ‘Yeah, but we’ll never let that happen.’ And that’s exactly how that shit played out.
“So, I got cut from the Rams, I went to Atlanta. I kind of had to see what they were talking about for real, because I played at Georgia. ... So, that one happened. And I was like, the season was sorry. And then after that it was like, alright bro, I live in L.A. I’m chilling. I’ve [done] everything. Of course, I would love to have a ring and stuff like that. But I went to a Super Bowl, lost. I wasn’t really tripping. I don’t know, I feel like I did a lot of stuff that I never would’ve thought I would’ve ever did. And just having fun, just playing football. … Living out a lot of people’s dreams, for real, that type of vibe.
“It really came down to like, it didn’t really matter if I scored 10 more touchdowns or if I scored zero. It wasn’t going to satisfy me no more, for real.”
Gurley added that he had an opportunity to sign with the Ravens in 2021 but at that point, he felt at peace with his career.
“But I grew up a Ravens fan — die hard. Ed Reed, favorite player,” Gurley said. “When I had to think about it, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, it’s over.’ It really ain’t up for discussion. And I’m like, bro I’m in L.A. I’m not about to go to … Detroit, Baltimore — hell no. I’m chillin’. I’m vibin’. Just having a good perspective for real.”
In his 88 career games, Gurley rushed for 6,082 yards with 67 touchdowns and caught 243 passes for 2,254 yards with 12 touchdowns from 2015-2020.
The Copa América tournament currently is unfolding in 14 American venues, including 11 NFL stadiums.
One, in Atlanta, has been criticized. Another, in Dallas, has drawn mixed reviews.
After the first match at AT&T Stadium, between Chile and Peru, both managers complained. Via TheAthletic.com, Peru manager Jorge Fossati mentioned the grass as a potential culprit for team captain Luis Advincula leaving early with Achilles tendon pain.
“It came out of nowhere,” Fossati said. “I realize that this is a grass field today but it’s not normal grass. It’s not grass that’s born, and grows [naturally]. It’s a grass they bring in from elsewhere. . . . That can be a bit of a harder surface and it can affect you in that exact place [the Achilles]. I’m not a doctor but I’ve been around football for a few years. Achilles injuries can be caused by that as well.”
The second match at Jerry World resulted in praise from the U.S. men’s national team. After a March game in the same stadium prompted complaints from the squad’s manager, Sunday’s 2-0 win over Bolivia resulted in praise.
“It was world’s apart of a difference -- the pitch at Nations League and the pitch that we played on tonight,” USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie said, via WFAA.com. “A lot better conditions and obviously you can see you can play better quality football. Balls aren’t popping up all over the place. They did a good job.”
“The pitch was definitely better now, 100 percent,” USMNT midfield Tyler Adams said. “I’m not one to complain about the pitch too much. You still have to play football at the end of the day. The game isn’t going to stop because of the pitch. But this pitch was 100 percent better.”
For Copa América, the powers-that-be removed the artificial turf on which the Cowboys play and installed 10 inches of soil over the concrete floor. It was topped by Kentucky bluegrass from a farm in Colorado.
For the World Cup in two years, massive renovations to the venue — $295 million in all — will be needed in order to comply with FIFA standards. It will host nine matches in all.
Despite complaints about the performance of the temporary grass at a stadium that hosts football games on turf, the field won’t change at the Falcons’ home venue for Thursday night’s Copa América match between the U.S. and Panama.
Via Doug Roberson of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the grass used for Argentina vs. Canada won’t be replaced before what will be the second of two games played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Per the report, the system entails putting flooring over the artificial turf, with rolls of sod on top. It was used earlier this year for a match between the U.S. women’s national team’s and Japan. It also was used last summer, for two Premier League friendlies played in Atlanta.
Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni complained about the grass after last Thursday’s win. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez called it a “disaster” and "[v]ery bumpy.” Canada defenseman Kamal Miller said, “It felt like walking on a stage, as if it was hollow.”
Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host World Cup matches in two years. For those matches, it’s “probable” that the turf will be pulled up, dirt put in, and grass grown.
The Steelers claimed defensive lineman Willington Previlon off waivers on Friday, according to the NFL’s transactions report.
The Falcons cut Previlon and offensive lineman Nolan Potter on Thursday.
Previlon went undrafted out of Rutgers in 2020, where he made 71 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and three passes defensed in his career.
He signed with the Packers and spent his rookie season on their practice squad. Previlon was cut by the Packers out of the preseason again in 2021, and he later signed to the Bucs’ practice squad.
Previlon was on the Cowboys’ practice squad for most of last season after the Bucs cut him out of training camp.
He has never played a regular-season game.
The Falcons have agreed to terms with rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr., according to multiple reports.
Penix, the No. 8 overall pick, receives a four-year, $22.88 million deal that includes a fifth-year option. His signing bonus is $13.46 million.
With his signing, the Falcons now have their eight-player draft class under contract.
The Falcons’ selection of Penix was the biggest surprise of the 2024 draft as it came only six weeks after the team signed Kirk Cousins in free agency. The Falcons owe Cousins $100 million over the next two years, so Penix is expected to sit behind Cousins for two years.
Penix, 24, hasn’t gone into the season as a backup since 2018.
He won the Maxwell Award, annually given to the nation’s most outstanding player and finished second in Heisman voting in 2023.
In his six seasons of college football — four at Indiana and two at the University of Washington — he made 45 starts and completed 63.3 percent of his passes for 13,741 yards, 96 touchdowns and 34 interceptions.
The Falcons started three different quarterbacks the past two seasons as they attempted to replace Matt Ryan. They now not only have replaced him but have a succession plan for Cousins, who turns 36 in August.