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Latavius Murray

Free agent's future cloudy in Oakland

Latavius Murray had a serviceable enough season for the Raiders last year, rushing for 788 yards and 12 TDs. But considering he was running behind one of the league's best offensive lines on a 12-win team, it wasn't so impressive that it's certain he'll be back in 2017. Murray is headed for free agency, and won't necessarily be a priority for the Raiders.

GM Reggie McKenzie said yesterday that the team wants to re-sign its players, including Murray as a player the team they will try to bring back in this article. But it's possible that's just talk, since Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle expects the team to move on from Murray.

Bottom line, Murray was nothing special last year, managing a modest 4.0 yards per carry while running behind an excellent line. Two other running backs on his own team were more than a yard per carry better than Murray, as were 30 other running backs (among ballcarriers with at least 400 rushing yards) in the NFL last season.

Murray will probably land a starting job somewhere, but tough to see him being a huge priority for any team in free agency.

The table below shows running backs from last season, sorted by yards per carry. The team won't necessarily be starting Richard or Washington, who are smaller, 5-foot-8 backs that tended to play more in passing formations and see softer defensive fronts, but both should see an increase in opportunities.

RUNNING BACKS OVER 400 YARDS, YPC
Player Att Yds Avg TD
Jalen Richard 834915.91
Ty Montgomery 774575.93
Mike Gillislee 1015775.78
Bilal Powell 1317225.53
LeSean McCoy 2341,2675.413
DeAndre Washington 874675.42
Jordan Howard 2521,3135.26
Ezekiel Elliott 3221,6315.115
Mark Ingram 2051,0435.16
Jay Ajayi 2601,2724.98
LeVeon Bell 2611,2684.97
Devonta Freeman 2271,0794.811
Isaiah Crowell 1989524.87
Darren Sproles 944384.72
Carlos Hyde 2179884.66
Matt Jones 994604.63
Derrick Henry 1104904.55
DeMarco Murray 2931,2874.49
Tevin Coleman 1185204.48
Spencer Ware 2149214.33
Ryan Mathews 1556614.38
Jacquizz Rodgers 1295604.32
David Johnson 2931,2394.216
Rob Kelley 1687044.26
Alfred Blue 1004204.21
Tim Hightower 1335484.14
Paul Perkins 1124564.10
Lamar Miller 2681,0734.05
Terrance West 1937744.05
C.J. Anderson 1104374.04
Latavius Murray 1957884.012
LeGarrette Blount 2991,1613.918
Frank Gore 2631,0253.94
Melvin Gordon 2549973.910
Jeremy Hill 2228393.89
Jonathan Stewart 2188243.89
Chris Ivory 1174393.83
Matt Forte 2188133.77
T.J. Yeldon 1304653.61
Devontae Booker 1746123.54
Jerick McKinnon 1595393.42
Rashad Jennings 1815933.33
Matt Asiata 1214023.36
Todd Gurley 2788853.26
Doug Martin 1444212.93

--Andy Richardson

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