Bills sign Latavius Murray to a one-year deal

[Turk71]

I like this pickup.

I thought Murray played really well platooning in Denver last year.

Really liked the Harris pickup too,

Bills backfield is now fully stacked

[AlCowlingsTaxiService]

8 hours ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

 

Hello? We just drafted a Guard who didn't give up a sack his entire college career and was Consensus 1st Team All American in the SEC

I hope so … but I’m still haunted by the praise heaped upon another 2nd round rookie lineman not that long ago 

[PBF81]

59 minutes ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

LOL to the bolded.  All I did was say he is a viable 3rd string option if Harris goes down.  He is not getting the lion's share of reps and

he is a good short yardage and blocking RB.  If anyone is going overboard in "posturing", it's you with your hatred of the pick.

You doubled down with the foolishness of your statement with your comment on his contract.  The reason Beane signed the guy is because

he could fill a role and is cheap.

 

Enjoy your criticism of the signing!

 

 

LOL

 

That's hilarious.  Funny, all the blowback for suggesting that what you insist is 3rd string 33-year old RB won't be on the roster.

 

Yeah, huge reach there.  

 

😉

 

 

Edited May 1, 2023 by PBF81

[Turk71]

171 carries last season for 745 yards avg 4.5, ranked 8th out of 60 qualified backs on PFF. 

Wanted to play for Buffalo for chance at the SB

He is not just a camp body, he will be on the field.

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

I feel like this guy will end up being the (yearly) RB that can’t ever get on the field. A guy we will all ask about and want to see, then every week will just be inactive. I love Harris and Cook was very impressive in limited action last year…it’s just the use of these RBs by this team is often infuriating. I sort of miss the days of picking a guy and letting him get into a rhythm. I can’t see Murray playing much even though he is pretty good.

[machine gun kelly]

39 minutes ago, Turk71 said:

I like this pickup.

I thought Murray played really well platooning in Denver last year.

Really liked the Harris pickup too,

Bills backfield is now fully stacked

Turk, agreed we’re never as long as Allen is here going to be a ground and pound, but we need to be effective.  We have the various skilled backs to be effective and had a complete off season for Cook and Hines to make it work. 
 

Murrays age and Harris’ injury history is good as either won’t be king Henry, but we don’t need them to do so.  Just play their roles and get more rest to be fresh when needed on the field.

 

We need no other RB’s right now.

[Warcodered]

 

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

This suggests they are going away from finesse running and more bettering ram running 

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

10 hours ago, Roundybout said:

 

Duke Johnson replacement?

 

This just baffles the **** out of me. Beane has an obsession with RBs. Glad they didn’t waste a draft pick on one at least. 

[TheBeaneBandit]

9 minutes ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

This suggests they are going away from finesse running and more bettering ram running 

Not good news for Cook then.

[Turk71]

I didnt realize he ran 4.38 at his pro day. I know it was years ago but that is pretty incredible for his size. His 3 cone time was amazing as well.

https://nflcombineresults.com/playerpage.php?f=Latavius&l=Murray&i=28913

Edited May 2, 2023 by Turk71

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

3 minutes ago, TheBeaneBandit said:

Not good news for Cook then.

I suspect he’s the change of pace back?

 

all the stuff they have been doing to me looks to fit the theme of working the short middle part of the field. The weak area of the Josh beater defense (cover 2 shell) 

[MrEpsYtown]

None of this suggest anything about scheme. It won’t change. We may see more 12. It doesn’t say anything about Cook or Hines. 
 

Harris was signed to get the first downs that we typically use Josh for…to take the wear off of Josh. If Harris gets hurt, which is has a propensity to do, Murray is there to pick up the job. 
 

That’s it. You can do a lot worse than Murray. He’s the perfect insurance policy, won’t complain, is a great teammate. 

[Aesop]

Great signing. This is the happiest I've been with our RB room in years...Yes I know its only May 1st.

[Andy1]

6’ 3”, 230 lbs. Another big player to make our offense more physical. Bean is following the characteristics he looked for in the draft as he remake this offense.

[akm0404]

Sure why not rbs are silly and don’t matter it’s 2023

[JohnBonhamRocks]

1 hour ago, Turk71 said:

I like this pickup.

I thought Murray played really well platooning in Denver last year.

Really liked the Harris pickup too,

Bills backfield is now fully stacked

And you know those boxes were probably stacked.

1 minute ago, Andy1 said:

6’ 3”, 230 lbs. Another big player to make our offense more physical. Bean is following the characteristics he looked for in the draft as he remake this offense.

Physicality is most definitely a if not the theme of this off-season.

[PBF81]

4 hours ago, Sierra Foothills said:

 

Fair enough.

 

I'll say barring injury he makes the opening day roster.

 

 

BTW and FWIW, you may want to look at Murray's splits.  I just did.  

 

A third of his carries and 43% of his yards were when his team was down by 9-16 points, and no doubt often late in games.  

 

The rest of the time he averaged 3.7 yards-per-carry which is incredibly poor.  

 

That's something that needs to be considered when evaluating him.  In short, he's not a good 3-down back in tight games.  Most people don't even look that far.  I still don't see what he brings to the table here that will help us.  

 

 

Edited May 2, 2023 by PBF81

[JohnBonhamRocks]

Added bonus he’s from near Syracuse.

[BigAl2526]

Buffalo carried four RBs on the team at the start of last season: Singletary, Cook, Hines and Taiwan Jones.  Granted Jones was really a special teams specialist, but RB was his listed position.  Some of these guys will need to play special teams in order for the team to carry all four, but Murry is real good insurance for Harris.  Though Murray is 33, he's been very durable, and despite the fact that he's a big boy with power, he also has some wheels.

[Bills Bud]

Good pick up, power back that will take some pressure off Josh to run in it in close to the goal line and on 3rd and short. We want Josh to take less hits. Don't be surprises if Harris or Hines gets cut since they are similar backs.

[klos63]

Between Murray and Harris, that's two very effective short yardage/redzone RB's. Good signing.

[WotAGuy]

Murray has wanted to play for the Bills ever since Josh jumped over Anthony Barr in Josh’s rookie year. 🤣 Murray wanted to sign with Buffalo last year but they signed Duke instead. 

[ColoradoBills]

25 minutes ago, JohnBonhamRocks said:

And you know those boxes were probably stacked.

Physicality is most definitely a if not the theme of this off-season.

 

After Javonte Williams was put on IR Murray came in and played well.  The Broncos then traded for Chase Edmonds from Miami

and he went to IR.  Murray returned to being the guy, splitting time with Gordon.

[JohnBonhamRocks]

21 minutes ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

After Javonte Williams was put on IR Murray came in and played well.  The Broncos then traded for Chase Edmonds from Miami

and he went to IR.  Murray returned to being the guy, splitting time with Gordon.

Yeah I drafted Javonte in fantasy and ended up holding Murray as my last HB for a while after he went down. 

[Coach Tuesday]

7 hours ago, PBF81 said:

 

Yes, I'm familiar with his role on other teams, but as stated, he's 33.  That's old for a RB contrary to what opinions may be otherwise.  

 

I'm not sure that I see us carrying 5 RBs, and again, other than for injury insurance, I'm not seeing what he adds given our offense, which already underutilizes RBs.  I still say that there's a good chance he's not even on the 53 come opening day.  

 

There's an awful lot of defensive posturing on this signing as if it has any significance in achieving wins.  The size of the contract says something.  

 

That is all.  

 

And BTW. 4.2 ypc is incredibly average.  FWIW  

 

 

 

 

So the way he helps win games is by allowing/forcing them NOT to invest MORE resources in the position.  THAT is what excites me about the signing.

[ColoradoBills]

17 minutes ago, JohnBonhamRocks said:

Yeah I drafted Javonte in fantasy and ended up holding Murray as my last HB for a while after he went down. 

 

Ouch.  I'm not a Broncos fan but living here I can't help but see them play a lot.  Their RB room must have had 8 guys go through it 

last season.  It was a mess.  Funny think was Murray was the steady one.

[JohnBonhamRocks]

Just now, ColoradoBills said:

 

Ouch.  I'm not a Broncos fan but living here I can't help but see them play a lot.  Their RB room must have had 8 guys go through it 

last season.  It was a mess.  Funny think was Murray was the steady one.

Yep, Gordon couldn’t help fumbling the job away

[PBF81]

8 hours ago, NewEra said:

Obv different style.  As I added later in the thread-  he’s more Yeldon as he’ll be on the 53- yet inactive.  What he adds is insurance.  He’s not a bad back-  he’s a solid north south option- especially as a 4th option. 

 

OK, but then why when I said that it's a nothing signing did you take issue?  

 

I mean barring some major injuries he won't be a factor, only as "insurance," and I still disagree that he makes the 53-man roster.  In fairness I'm not familiar with how many players a team can "stock" etc.  But I always thought that the 53 was all active each week, no?  I know that there's all kinds of IR rules now allowing teams to stockpile players.  

 

Also, I'm not sure that you saw my other post, I took a look at his splits, a third of his carries and 43% of his yards were achieved while behind by 9-16 points, presumably often late in games given that he was on Denver.  The rest of the time he averaged 3.7 yards per carry on 2/3 of his carries.  In short, that doesn't even seem like a reliable backup to me.  I don't think that too many people even looked that far, but that's the kind of stuff one needs to look at before coming to a full determination of a player.  

 

 

[T master]

It's about time they signed a bigger back 6' 3" & 230 lbs a big missing piece of the puzzle i've wanted them to get a back that size for years I think it will make a change in the ground game when they need 2 yds instead of Josh running a QB sneak or if they are on the goal line & need a TD .

 

Plus his mentorship to the young guys will be very welcome .

Edited May 2, 2023 by T master

[Mister Defense]

Good signing as the Bills are thin at RB.

 

4.4 yards a carry last year and over 4 the last 5 years.

[NewEra]

41 minutes ago, PBF81 said:

 

OK, but then why when I said that it's a nothing signing did you take issue?  

 

I mean barring some major injuries he won't be a factor, only as "insurance," and I still disagree that he makes the 53-man roster.  In fairness I'm not familiar with how many players a team can "stock" etc.  But I always thought that the 53 was all active each week, no?  I know that there's all kinds of IR rules now allowing teams to stockpile players.  

 

Also, I'm not sure that you saw my other post, I took a look at his splits, a third of his carries and 43% of his yards were achieved while behind by 9-16 points, presumably often late in games given that he was on Denver.  The rest of the time he averaged 3.7 yards per carry on 2/3 of his carries.  In short, that doesn't even seem like a reliable backup to me.  I don't think that too many people even looked that far, but that's the kind of stuff one needs to look at before coming to a full determination of a player.  

 

 

Which post?  Post the quote you have issue with.  I don’t know what you’re talking about.  Sorry

[T master]

5 minutes ago, Mister Defense said:

Good signing as the Bills are thin at RB.

 

4.4 yards a carry last year and over 4 the last 5 years.

 

Agree now maybe they will have that 1-2 punch that they thought they were going to get from Moss but this guy has got some beef to be the change of pace back from Cook or any of the others .

[PBF81]

8 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Which post?  Post the quote you have issue with.  I don’t know what you’re talking about.  Sorry

 

The general theme.  It all cascaded off of that one.  Who knows, these posts get lost.  

 

No worries.   

 

 

[Milanos Milano]

Latavius is an excellent blocker, which will come in handy when we are in our 2 TE sets . If all 4 or Diggs, Knox, Kincaid, and Davis are out on routes, having Latavius back to pick up somebody isn’t a bad thing. Same thing for Harris as well. 

[PBF81]

13 minutes ago, Mister Defense said:

Good signing as the Bills are thin at RB.

 

4.4 yards a carry last year and over 4 the last 5 years.

 

About a third of his carries were when his team was behind 9-16, those resulted in about 43% of his yards.  

 

He averaged 3.7 under more competitive circumstances otherwise.  I wouldn't expect too much.  

 

Cook and Harris will be the beef in our backfield, not sure that Murray's gonna get many carries at all.   I hope that Dorsey gets Hines involved in the passing game.  If Dorsey does this right we could be an absolutely offensive powerhouse.  He's the wild-card.  

 

It will be quite interesting to see how Singletary does in Houston sharing time with Pierce.  

 

 

1 minute ago, IronMaidenBills said:

Latavius is an excellent blocker, which will come in handy when we are in our 2 TE sets . If all 4 or Diggs, Knox, Kincaid, and Davis are out on routes, having Latavius back to pick up somebody isn’t a bad thing. Same thing for Harris as well. 

 

Hopefully the chemistry on our OL gels so that we have a synchronized OL limiting the need for extra blocking most of the time.  

 

[Milanos Milano]

8 minutes ago, PBF81 said:

 

About a third of his carries were when his team was behind 9-16, those resulted in about 43% of his yards.  

 

He averaged 3.7 under more competitive circumstances otherwise.  I wouldn't expect too much.  

 

Cook and Harris will be the beef in our backfield, not sure that Murray's gonna get many carries at all.   I hope that Dorsey gets Hines involved in the passing game.  If Dorsey does this right we could be an absolutely offensive powerhouse.  He's the wild-card.  

 

It will be quite interesting to see how Singletary does in Houston sharing time with Pierce.  

 

 

 

Hopefully the chemistry on our OL gels so that we have a synchronized OL limiting the need for extra blocking most of the time.  

 

This is true, but I’m kind of ok with just leaving Latavius back there for good measure. I want Allen sitting comfortably and slinging it all year long. Not many NFL teams have to personnel to handle Diggs, Knox, Kincaid, and Davis all out there running routes. 

Having Latavius and Damien on our team is an underrated upgrade. Both are highly capable backs. 

Edited May 2, 2023 by IronMaidenBills

[PBF81]

5 minutes ago, IronMaidenBills said:

This is true, but I’m kind of ok with just leaving Latavius back there for good measure. I want Allen sitting comfortably and slinging it all year long. Not many NFL teams have to personnel to handle Diggs, Knox, Kincaid, and Davis all out there running routes. 

Having Latavius and Damien on our team is an underrated upgrade. Both are highly capable backs. 

 

Speaking of Allen, I hope his elbow has fully healed.  

 

 

[BillsFanForever19]

Latavius isn't going to see the field unless there's an injury. All this talk about what he can do paired with whomever is moot.

 

He's good for depth in case of an injury. But he will not dress on Sunday's unless that happens. He's this year's TJ Yeldon, Matt Breida, or Duke Johnson. He'll be at best our 4th RB on the 53 who doesn't see the field and at worst our Practice Squad RB.

 

McDermott has only ever dressed 3 RB's on Sundays. 2 True RB's and one who plays ST's (was Taiwan Jones and Senorise Perry the one year Jones wasn't here). Cook and Harris will dress with Hines providing more offensive capability than previous ST's backs (while still providing ST Return capability).

Edited May 2, 2023 by BillsFanForever19

[Milanos Milano]

20 minutes ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

Latavius isn't going to see the field unless there's an injury. All this talk about what he can do paired with whomever is moot.

 

He's good for depth in case of an injury. But he will not dress on Sunday's unless that happens. He's this year's TJ Yeldon, Matt Breida, or Duke Johnson. He'll be at best our 4th RB on the 53 who doesn't see the field and at worst our Practice Squad RB.

 

McDermott has only ever dressed 3 RB's on Sundays. 2 True RB's and one who plays ST's (was Taiwan Jones and Senorise Perry the one year Jones wasn't here). Cook and Harris will dress with Hines providing more offensive capability than previous ST's backs (while still providing ST Return capability).

Nope, guaranteed he sees the field a decent amount this year. If and when will be on primarily 3rd downs. He will be used to block a good amount.