Ravens finalizing a deal to sign RB Latavius Murray, per report
By Justin Fried
The Baltimore Ravens aren’t done just yet. As reported by Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic on Thursday night, the Ravens are finalizing a deal to sign veteran running back Latavius Murray.
This comes following a season-ending torn ACL suffered by running back Gus Edwards during Thursday’s practice. Soon after the injury was revealed, the Ravens agreed to sign Devonta Freeman to their practice squad.
Now, the team has added another veteran running back to the mix in Murray.
In the span of 12 days, the Ravens lost J.K. Dobbins, Justice Hill, and Edwards to season-ending torn ACLs. They’ve attempted to stop the bleeding, so to speak, with the additions of Freeman, Le’Veon Bell, and Trenton Cannon.
But Murray has a chance to be the most impactful addition so far.
The Ravens running back room is gaining a huge boost with Latavius Murray
A sixth-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, Murray spent the first three years of his career with the Raiders where he even made the Pro Bowl in 2015 following a 1,066-yard campaign.
He spent a couple of seasons with the Minnesota Vikings before joining the New Orleans Saints in 2019. Over the last two years, Murray has been a valuable role player for the Saints acting as the de facto RB2 behind Alvin Kamara.
He’s coming off one of the most efficient years of his career where he averaged 4.5 yards per carry on 146 attempts. Murray was released earlier this month after refusing to take a pay cut from the Saints.
The fact that he’s willing to sign with the Ravens, a team strapped for cap space, indicates that he’s open to taking less money up front for a greater opportunity.
Murray will join a backfield headed by former undrafted free agent Ty’Son Williams. Following the losses of Dobbins, Edwards, and Hill, Williams and Murray could very well be the top duo in Baltimore with Freeman, Bell, and Cannon sprinkled in.
There’s still a lot to work out, however. And with just days to go before the season opener, the Ravens will have to figure things out in short order.
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Latavius Murray was arguably the best remaining running back available on the market and the Ravens managed to snag him.