Todd Gurley won't play a snap this preseason. Don't expect to see him on the field in Week 1, either.
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport wrote in a dispatch from Rams camp on Tuesday that the team expects their first-round pick to miss the "first couple games" of the regular season. Gurley is viewed as 90 percent recovered from his torn ACL, but the area around the repaired ligament isn't far enough along for the team to feel confident about a full return to action.
Which is not to insinuate that Gurley has suffered a setback. Rapoport wrote Tuesday that "team personnel can barely contain themselves" about the potential of Gurley, a college star at Georgia who has drawn comparisons to a young Adrian Peterson.
Gurley echoed the patience angle in a Tuesday interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio.
"Right now, we're not pushing anything," Gurley said. "It's kind of taking it day-by-day and week-by-week. Whether it's Week 5 or Week 1, 10 years from now nobody is going to remember what you did the first five games. You've just got to take it easy."
Everybody seems to have their head in the right place here, even Gurley, who you might expect to be more antsy about getting back on the field. The Rams have waited years to find a guy like Gurley to lead their offense. What's a few more weeks?
The latest Around The NFL Podcast breaks down what Geno Smith's injury means for the Jets and recaps the first Hard Knocks episode in Houston.