Who's in on Latavius Murray? He had a pretty mediocre season running behind one of the league's best offensive lines a year ago, and joined the Vikings after the Raiders showed no interest in bringing him back. He's not exactly instilling confidence in his return from ankle surgery, either.
"The goal is to just try to be available during training camp at some point," says Murray. Murray is out of a walking boot, so there's that, but he clearly isn't close to getting back on a football field.
Probably not a big deal, with training camp still six weeks away, but just another reason not to be particularly excited about Murray. Minnesota drafted Dalvin Cook in the second round, and he'll have a leg up on winning the starting job for as long as Murray is on the shelf.
Oakland (whose line is a lot better than Minnesota's) didn't get Murray free for a lot of big plays a year ago. He had just 1 run of 40 yards all season. That's not necessarily a big deal (some great backs didn't have many such runs, either), but Murray isn't a back who's going to create a ton on his own, his offensive line is a lesser group, and he's apparently going to miss a good chunk of training camp. Looks like good news for Cook.
| RUNNING BACKS, 20- AND 40-YD RUNS, 2016 (100 ATTEMPTS) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | Long | TD | 20+ | 40+ |
| Jay Ajayi, Mia. | 260 | 1272 | 4.9 | 62t | 8 | 10 | 4 |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 322 | 1631 | 5.1 | 60t | 15 | 14 | 3 |
| LeGarrette Blount, N.E. | 299 | 1161 | 3.9 | 44 | 18 | 7 | 3 |
| Melvin Gordon, S.D. | 254 | 997 | 3.9 | 48 | 10 | 7 | 3 |
| LeSean McCoy, Buff. | 234 | 1267 | 5.4 | 75t | 13 | 11 | 3 |
| Jeremy Hill, Cin. | 222 | 839 | 3.8 | 74t | 9 | 5 | 3 |
| Isaiah Crowell, Clev. | 198 | 952 | 4.8 | 85t | 7 | 8 | 3 |
| David Johnson, Ariz. | 293 | 1239 | 4.2 | 58t | 16 | 6 | 2 |
| DeMarco Murray, Tenn. | 293 | 1287 | 4.4 | 75t | 9 | 4 | 2 |
| Jordan Howard, Chi. | 252 | 1313 | 5.2 | 69 | 6 | 10 | 2 |
| Devonta Freeman, Atl. | 227 | 1079 | 4.8 | 75t | 11 | 7 | 2 |
| Carlos Hyde, S.F. | 217 | 988 | 4.6 | 47 | 6 | 7 | 2 |
| Spencer Ware, K.C. | 214 | 921 | 4.3 | 46 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Mark Ingram, N.O. | 205 | 1043 | 5.1 | 75t | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| Rob Kelley, Wash. | 168 | 704 | 4.2 | 66 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| Chris Ivory, Jac. | 117 | 439 | 3.8 | 42 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Lamar Miller, Hou. | 268 | 1073 | 4.0 | 45 | 5 | 7 | 1 |
| LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | 261 | 1268 | 4.9 | 44 | 7 | 4 | 1 |
| Jonathan Stewart, Car. | 218 | 824 | 3.8 | 47 | 9 | 6 | 1 |
| Latavius Murray, Oak. | 195 | 788 | 4.0 | 42 | 12 | 5 | 1 |
| Terrance West, Balt. | 193 | 774 | 4.0 | 41 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Jacquizz Rodgers, T.B. | 129 | 560 | 4.3 | 45 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Tevin Coleman, Atl. | 118 | 520 | 4.4 | 55t | 8 | 5 | 1 |
| Thomas Rawls, Sea. | 109 | 349 | 3.2 | 45t | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Mike Gillislee, Buff. | 101 | 577 | 5.7 | 44t | 8 | 7 | 1 |
| Todd Gurley, L.A. | 278 | 885 | 3.2 | 24t | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Frank Gore, Ind. | 263 | 1025 | 3.9 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Matt Forte, NYJ | 218 | 813 | 3.7 | 32 | 7 | 5 | 0 |
| Rashad Jennings, NYG | 181 | 593 | 3.3 | 25 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Devontae Booker, Den. | 174 | 612 | 3.5 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Jerick McKinnon, Minn. | 159 | 539 | 3.4 | 36 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Ryan Mathews, Phi. | 155 | 661 | 4.3 | 30 | 8 | 6 | 0 |
| Doug Martin, T.B. | 144 | 421 | 2.9 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Hightower, N.O. | 133 | 548 | 4.1 | 30 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Bilal Powell, NYJ | 131 | 722 | 5.5 | 35t | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| T.J. Yeldon, Jac. | 130 | 465 | 3.6 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Asiata, Minn. | 121 | 402 | 3.3 | 29 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Paul Perkins, NYG | 112 | 456 | 4.1 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| C.J. Anderson, Den. | 110 | 437 | 4.0 | 28 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Derrick Henry, Tenn. | 110 | 490 | 4.5 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Alfred Blue, Hou. | 100 | 420 | 4.2 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
--Andy Richardson