Falcons running back Todd Gurley was elated to take his first steps with his new team Monday.
“It’s my birthday,” Gurley said. “I’m not complaining about nothing. A lot of people want to die to play this game.
“For me to be 26 and for (it) to be my sixth year in the (NFL), still getting an opportunity to play running back, do something that I love, do something that I’ve always done, I’m always appreciative and grateful.”
The Falcons signed Gurley, who was the NFL’s offensive player of the year in 2017, in free agency after releasing running back Devonta Freeman. The former University of Georgia standout was selected 10th overall by the Rams in 2015.
“There was no better way to come back than to do it on my birthday and be able to just go back to work,” Gurley said. “Have a new team, new teammates and new everything. It’s pretty cool.”
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Falcons went through a rigorous round of testing. Each player had to pass three tests before he was allowed to enter the team facilities. Then there were two days for physicals and equipment testing.
Six Falcons have been placed on the league’s reserve/COVID-19 list.
During the negotiation process between the NFL and the players’ union, Gurley was outspoken about the player-safety protocols.
“I think that everything has been going pretty good,” Gurley said. “Last week was pretty much a lot of testing going on, making sure that everyone’s results came back. Making sure it was consistent. They’ve been doing a pretty good job with that. We started today. It was a good feeling just to be back out there.”
After a conditioning period, the Falcons broke into position groups. No coaches were allowed.
Alex Mack was leading the offensive linemen, and Grady Jarrett was in charge of the defensive linemen.
“The main thing was just really everyone being back together for the first time since the season ended,” Gurley said. “I felt today was just a steppingstone to what leads into the season. A lot of good things. Definitely for me to be out there and learn my new teammates’ names, the coaches and then also get adjusted to the playbook.”
During the conditioning portion, players were spread out in four lines the length of football fields. There were 77 players on the field, including newly signed cornerback Darqueze Dennard.
About 25% of the players wore masks. Gurley was not overly concerned that most of the team didn’t wear masks.
“They had us pretty much had us spread out,” Gurley said. “We obviously have three fields, not even including the indoor stuff. I felt we did a good job of spreading everybody out today and everybody being in their position groups.
Gurley wore his mask and made sure that he covered his noise after he ran a route or did an assignment.
“For me, just me trying to get used to wearing the mask more for conditioning than anything,” Gurley said. “Just trying to work my mind and work my body back in to shape.”
Gurley is fine with the strength-and-conditioning period after the virtual offseason.
“I’m a vet, so I’m not going to complain about us not having real training camp in August right now,” Gurley said.
“I’m just enjoying the process. Everybody is kind of dealing with the same situation. All 32 teams, it’s just one of those things that you’ve got to control what you can control.
“You have to see what happens tomorrow. You never know what can happen tomorrow. Just focus on today. I feel like everybody over here is doing a pretty good job of making sure that we stay safe and doing all of the protocols.”
Gurley took some time to reflect on his birthday.
“I’m just happy to still be playing football,” Gurley said. “Still be alive. A lot of people haven’t made it through this whole COVID situation. You just have to be grateful at the end of the day. To still be able to try to play football, a lot of guys would be down right now if we didn’t have a chance to play football or go out there and do camp.
“That’s kind of how we’ve always been. We’ve had a schedule our whole life, knowing that you have a job and being unsure that it’s going to actually happen, it gets the best of people.”
Gurley is coping, too.
“I feel like I’ve been handling it pretty well,” Gurley said. “Just staying positive. Doing what I do. Working out. Then just taking care of business off the field as well.”
Gurley was told the media was going to sing “Happy Birthday” after he talked.
“I would appreciate that,” Gurley said. “We could probably make that go viral.”
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
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