Was Rams running back Todd Gurley injured for Super Bowl LIII?

Much of the world still thinks so after the All-Pro had just 13 total offensive chances, including two passes thrown his direction and one run nullified by penalty, in the biggest game of the season.

However, I think Gurley was healthy and that the Rams were not being deceitful by removing him from the injury report.

My thought is his knee inflammation was related to tendonitis, which should not have had a debilitating effect on him in Sunday’s 13-3 loss to the Patriots.

I am not saying he was 100 percent. After all, almost no one is by the end of the season.

But Gurley had the most carries (10) of any Rams player, three more than C.J. Anderson. He also had a 13-yard gain called back due to a holding penalty.

The Rams had just 60 offensive plays, and multiple three-and-outs and third-and-long situations limited their opportunities to get Gurley more involved.

In-game stats had him as the fastest player on the field at 19.8 miles per hour. Yes, this is straight-line speed, and one could theorize that his cutting ability was hampered. But in my experience, you simply can’t be that fast and be injured.

For example, an MCL sprain such as what Chargers running back Melvin Gordon dealt with late this season, is primarily responsible for stability in cutting but also affects your speed. We saw that with Gordon in the Chargers’ playoff loss to the Patriots.

After resting in weeks 16 and 17 and in the bye week to start the playoffs, Gurley had 16 carries for 115 yards (7.2-yard average) and a touchdown in the Rams’ playoff victory over the Cowboys. That is not the production of an injured player.

While he struggled in the NFC Championship game against the Saints, Gurley emphatically stated he was fine before and after the game.

Why would he do this? If the theory was to hide injury from the Patriots, then why continue to say it after the Super Bowl? Maintaining this position hurts his profile. The only reason to continue now is to be honest.

The Rams have been relatively forthcoming regarding injuries under head coach Sean McVay. “Coachspeak” is commonplace, but McVay in his two seasons has been among the league leaders in telling it like it is. He has said Gurley was healthy.

Is there another secret reason Gurley wasn’t used more? We really can’t know, though we often find out down in due time.

But with the available information and evidence, it seems he was more limited by scheme and circumstances than by injury.