The Saints are set to run a new backup again. They are releasing Latavius Murray, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets, adding that the veteran turned down a pay cut Monday.
While this removes the Saints from another proven weapon, it will give other teams that need to regain an interesting option before week 1. Murray has spent the last two seasons working as a Alvin Kamarabackup. He saw a lot of time during this stretch, surpassing the 600 running meters in each season.
Murray agreed to a four-year, $ 14.4 million deal with New Orleans in 2019, which would come from Minnesota to replace him Mark Ingram as a side of Kamara. The team’s salary reduction request certainly came to an end; This season, Murray, 31, would earn $ 2.95 base salary.
Missing just one game during his two-year stint at Saints, Murray totaled 1,293 running yards with the team. He scored 11 touchdowns as a Saint, occupying a Kamara injured by short stretches in both seasons, and provided a smooth transition from Ingram. The Saints are back in their fourth year Dwayne Washington and second-year UDFA Tony Jones Jr. as his active list goes back to Kamara. The latter seems like the best bet to take over Kamara’s main backup. A Notre Dame product, Jones has three professional careers, but impressed this summer.