On this day two years ago, Jared Goff and Todd Gurley were playing in Super Bowl LIII with the Rams.
Gurley had signed a four-year, $60 million contract extension just before the start of the 2018 regular season. Goff would sign a four-year, $134 million extension in August 2019.
Now neither player will be with Los Angeles when the blockbuster trade for Matthew Stafford is finalized at the start of the new league year in March.
It’s been a fairly remarkable turn of events for both players over the last 24 months. Gurley was released last March and signed a one-year deal with the Falcons. He rushed for just 678 yards and nine touchdowns in 15 games in 2020 — the lowest yardage total of his career.
Since 2019, Goff is second in the NFL with 38 giveaways. Only Jameis Winston has more, and he didn’t start a game in 2020.
But during a Wednesday appearance on NFL Network, Gurley took a bit of a swipe at his old team when addressing the trade.
“Well, another situation where I wasn’t surprised again,” Gurley said, via NFL Media. “But you know, I like Goff, I like Goff, he’s a good guy. Don’t nobody care about who’s a good guy. I’m just happy he’ll be able to go somewhere and hopefully those guys welcome him with open arms and just not be judgmental and just let him play. He’s been a No. 1 pick for a reason, and he has a lot of ball left in him.”
As Goff said himself, Gurley thinks the change could be a positive development for the 26-year-old quarterback.
“It could be a good thing for him, you know? Just add an extra chip on your shoulder,” Gurley said. “A lot of players like to play with chips on their shoulder, but it’s a lot different when you’re a franchise quarterback and you take your team to the Super Bowl and two years later you’re on a whole other team. Like I told him, man, love him, just want him to be happy and keep doing what you’re doing.”
