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The offseason is the time for the kind of unbridled enthusiasm that would make even Billy Mumphrey blush, but that’s how it goes when a league (and the media outlets owned by the league) need to keep 32 fan bases as engaged as possible from January until September. For the Rams, a predictable “Hey maybe we can get back to the Super Bowl and win it this time!” vibe has been undermined by persistent chatter regarding star running back Todd Gurley‘s knee.

Of course, the Mumphrey Doctrine mandates that Rams fans plug their ears and shout “FAKE NEWS!” whenever a story emerges that suggests Gurley’s best days are behind him. Well, Rams fans, it’s time to put those index fingers into the two holes in the sides of your head.

“It is a concern,” Jay Glazer writes in his latest Q&A for TheAthletic.com, regarding Gurley’s knee. “The sky isn’t falling but even now, they’re being smart about it. It did swell up on him last year, this is a knee that has had wear and tear. Eventually, you’re going to factor this in especially with them having to sit him down the stretch last year. It’s not all doom and gloom, but it is definitely something you have to monitor and be prepared for in case that thing blows up on him again. We already learned that lesson last year. That’s why he isn’t doing any on-field work yet.”

Gurley suffered an ACL tear in 2014, his last year at Georgia. He showed no ill effects through three NFL seasons, but the knee swelled without specific injury after a Week One win in Oakland, and then it spontaneously swelled again in December, knocking him out of the final two regular-season games. In the postseason, Gurley had some moments but he was never the player he was in 2017, when he became the NFL’s offensive player of the year.

Fortunately for Gurley (and unfortunately for the Rams), he has his second contract. Unfortunately for Gurley, there’s definitely an issue. At least one report has indicated that the knee has become arthritic. It’s also possible that cartilage loss has created a bone-on-bone condition in one or more portions of the knee.

Regardless, Gurley is entering a troubling phase of his career. Any time a team must be careful about how much work a workhorse running back gets, the running back is basically no longer a workhorse.