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When the Rams picked running back Todd Gurley in the first round of the draft, Zac Stacy responded by requesting a trade out of St. Louis.

Tre Mason made no such demands, although he admits that he was “in shock” because he felt that he played well while leading the Rams in rushing and touchdowns as a rookie and that selecting Gurley that early was a move to secure “a replacement” for what he hoped to be for the team.

Mason doesn’t plan to make it easy for Gurley to replace him, however.

“At the end of the day, the goal is to win a championship and the only way I can do that is to just keep doing me, to become the best me I can be,’’ Mason said, via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I’ll just continue to chase greatness. That’s been the mindset since school; find the record and go out and break it. … Realistically, it’s a competition because there’s usually just one running back out there at a time. But honestly, that’s not my mindset. I can’t worry about anybody else; I have too much work to do. I’ve been working on my long-distance speed; I know I can burst through the hole, but I want to try and get more long runs this year.”

The Rams don’t know if Gurley will be ready to start the regular season after last year’s torn ACL and he could start training camp on the PUP list, which would give Mason plenty of chances to show what improvements he’s made to his game this offseason. If he made enough of them, he’ll keep getting those chances whether he’s in St. Louis or somewhere else in the future.