Atlanta Falcons running back Todd Gurley said he’s prepared to sit out the upcoming season if the NFL and NFL Players Association fail to devise what he feels is an adequate plan for playing football safely during the coronavirus pandemic.
Gurley said he’s not impressed with what he’s heard about how the league intends to prevent an outbreak among players.
“It’s really not structured right,” Gurley said on CBS Sports Radio’s “Tiki and Tierney” on Thursday.
“There’s not a proper plan in place that I’m comfortable with. I don’t have a wife. I don’t have any kids. But you have to look at guys on the other side who have pregnant wives, kids and a wife that they go home to every single day. I just feel like in general we just need to come up with something a lot better than what they’re giving us. Everything they gave us is pretty last minute. We should have been able to have answers weeks ago, if not months ago.”
So, what is Gurley’s mindset heading into the season?
“You have to be prepared to not play or be prepared to have a half a season,” Gurley said. “If they don’t do things right, we won’t have a full season. It’s just how things have been going so far this year. Hopefully everything goes well, but I don’t see how. It just doesn’t sit well right now.”
Gurley agreed to a one-year, $5.5 million contract with the Falcons shortly after he was released by the Los Angeles Rams in March. The 25-year-old was released by the Rams after a steep drop-off in production in 2019 and questions about the health of his left knee, in which he has an arthritic condition.
A former All-American at Georgia, Gurley rushed for a career-low 857 yards last season. He ran for 5,404 yards and 58 touchdowns while adding 218 receptions for 2,090 yards and 12 scores in 73 regular-season games with the Rams.
–Field Level Media
