Bill Plaschke , Los Angeles Times: “He arrived as Tinseltown’s big star, the leading man in the most ballyhooed local sports premiere of this generation. He wound up, like so many failed dreams, on the cutting-room floor. Four years after triumphantly leading the Rams back to Los Angeles, two years after signing one of the richest contracts for a running back in NFL history, superstar Todd Gurley has been officially treated like the last guy on the junior varsity bench. He was cut. Think about that. The great Gurley, the hurdling hellion, just two seasons after being named NFL offensive player of the year. Whacked, canned, axed. He wasn’t traded, because the Rams couldn’t trade him. He wasn’t sent to the minor leagues, because there are no NFL minor leagues. He wasn’t going to retire because he’s only 25.”

Bill Barnwell, ESPN.com: “What has to be frustrating from the perspective of Rams fans is that this team didn't need to hand out this extension at all. Since the league went to its current draft structure in the 2011 CBA, the Rams have been extremely aggressive in giving out extensions to their first-round picks after three seasons. Most teams wait to give out extensions to first-round picks until their young players have finished their fourth season in the pros. The Rams have now given five of their first-rounders extensions after Year 3: pass-rusher Robert Quinn, wide receiver Tavon Austin, linebacker Alec Ogletree, Gurley and, most recently, quarterback Jared Goff. The first four moves turned out to be disappointments, and Goff isn't off to a hot start . . . The Rams had Gurley under contract for one more year with a base salary of $2.3 million. They also had a fifth-year option available at $9.6 million, which was guaranteed for injury that summer and would have been guaranteed for skill the following year. They would have owed just under $12 million for two years of Gurley without having to make any longer-term commitment after that time. If the Rams had gone year-to-year and decided he wasn't worth a longer-term investment, they could have moved on from him this offseason with zero dead money. Instead, the Rams gave him an extension that paid him $26.95 million over those first two seasons. When you include the $7.5 million roster bonus that guaranteed last year, they paid Gurley $34.5 million for two seasons, nearly triple what they could have paid going year to year. They'll also incur all of that dead money, which will hurt their chances of adding valuable players to a top-heavy roster over the next two seasons. When teams typically hand out extensions to first-round picks after three years, the goal is to try to spread the value of the new deal over the two remaining seasons on their current deal and the four new seasons to keep the cap hits low.”