Look. Fullbacks at one time were every bit as valuable as "Tailbacks". Then the passing game accelerated, FBs had less of a role, and so "Tailbacks" became Running Backs (meaning you had only 1 in the backfield at a time).
The NFL has altered the rules to encourage passing, and make it more difficult on D's to defend, in order to see more scoring.
Workhorse RBs may not be a thing of the past, but they are less valuable long term. But even more than less valuable, they are among the most vulnerable to injury and to a short term career at prime. Naturally there will be one to occasionally break the mold. But businesses that count on the exception to the rule to propel them long term nearly universally lose.
Gurley should have been allowed to play out his rookie deal, and then dropped. On to the next guy. Let some other sucker pay him the big bucks.
My bet is that as long as Snead and McVay are a team, you'll never see a Ram RB get a top flight contract again. There are just too many good ones coming out of school that are good enough. QBs and WRs are another issue. They both can have long career spans at a high level, and the risk for them is far less than for a RB.
