Detroit Lions are still interested in Todd Gurley, talking with his agent

It’s been a week since free agent running back Todd Gurley visited the Detroit Lions during the first week of Organized Team Activities, but the team’s interest in him hasn’t waned. Lions head coach Dan Campbell told reporters on Thursday that the team was still interested in signing him, and talks were ongoing with his agent.

“Yeah, look, we have interest in Todd. We do,” Campbell said. “We’re talking with he and his agent. We do, we have interest in him.”

Gurley is just 26 years old, but his career has been on a downward slide over the past two seasons. In 2019, he averaged just 3.8 yards per carry, but did have 12 rushing touchdowns. Last season, his only with the Atlanta Falcons, he rushed for only 3.5 yards per carry and nine touchdowns.

However, Gurley has an obvious connection to the Lions front office. Both general manager Brad Holmes and assistant general manager Ray Agnew overlapped with Gurley’s five years with the Los Angeles Rams. Gurley said on Twitter last week that he enjoyed his visit to Detroit:

The obvious question is what would Gurley’s fit be on Detroit’s offense. The Lions drafted D’Andre Swift last year in the second round and appear to be fully behind him this year. They also added Jamaal Williams in free agency and have been hyping him up. Campbell said a potential Gurley signing does not represent a lack in confidence in either player.

“I’ll say this, just because we have interest in him, that does not affect our feeling and our thoughts on both Swift and Jamaal. It does not.”

After cutting John Atkins earlier in the week, the Lions have a roster spot open for Gurley—that is, if they can get a deal done. Campbell did say if a deal gets done, though, they’d like it to happen in the near future.

“I think if we can do it sooner than later, we’d like to.”