Latavius Rashard Murray (born January 18, 1990) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

for the

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of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

UCF The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

and was drafted by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

in the sixth round of the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. He was also a member of the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, and

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

Early years

Born in

Titusville, Florida Titusville is a city in eastern Florida and the county seat of Brevard County, Florida, United States. The city's population was 43,761 as of the 2010 United States Census. Titusville is located along the Indian River (Florida), Indian River, west ...

, Murray attended

Onondaga Central High School Onondaga is a town in Onondaga County, New York, United States encompassing 65 square miles. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town had a population of 22,937. The town is named after the native Onondaga tribe, part of the Iroquois Confederacy. Ono ...

Onondaga, New York Onondaga is a town in Onondaga County, New York, United States encompassing 65 square miles. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town had a population of 22,937. The town is named after the native Onondaga tribe, part of the Iroquois Confederacy. Ono ...

, where he was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball, and track. In

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, Murray was All-league and All-Central New York selection in three straight seasons. In his sophomore year, he was third-team All-state honoree following a 1,609-yard, 14-touchdown season. He garnered first-team All-state honors as a junior, rushing for 2,030 yards and 30

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

. In his final year, he was named the 2007

Gatorade Football Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys' baseball, boys' and girls' basketball, boys' and girls' cross country, boys' football, boys' a ...

in the state of New York after rushing for 2,194 yards with 28 touchdowns on offense, while also recording 78 tackles, three forced fumbles and two

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

on defense. He also was named as the Class D Player of the Year and First-team All-State by the NYSSWA. Regarded as a three-star recruit, Murray was ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the state of New York by ''

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'', No. 6 according to ''

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''. He chose UCF over scholarship offers from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, and

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

, among others.

College career

Murray played college football at the University of Central Florida. He made his collegiate debut against South Carolina State and had 43 rushing yards and two touchdowns. In his freshman season, he finished with 132 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. Murray tore his ACL during the offseason after his freshman year while playing basketball. After redshirting in 2009, he returned to the Knights' backfield in 2010. On November 20, against Tulane, he had his best game of the season with 146 rushing yards and a touchdown. On December 4, against SMU, he finished with 94 rushing yards and 21 receiving yards in a game with his first collegiate receiving touchdown. In his redshirt sophomore season, he was named Conference USA Championship MVP and also was named AutoZone Liberty Bowl MVP for his performance against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

in which he rushed for 104 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown. Overall, in the 2010 season, he finished with 637 rushing yards, 11 rushing touchdowns, five receptions, 47 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown. He started his junior season with 36 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns against Charleston Southern. In the next game against Boston College, he had 72 rushing yards and a touchdown. He was mostly held in check up to the end of the regular season. On November 19, against East Carolina, he had 87 rushing yards and a touchdown. In the last game of the season against UTEP, he had a season-high 233 rushing yards with two rushing touchdowns. Following the conclusion of his junior season, he was selected as the team's MVP and offensive player of the year. In his senior season, he was an All-C-USA First-team selection and was named to Phil Steele's All-C-USA First-team. He was named to the College Football Performance Awards All-Purpose Trophy Watch List and also was selected to the College Football Performance Awards Special Teams Watch List. He was named to the Doak Walker Award Watch List. On August 30, 2012, he started the season with 108 rushing yards and a touchdown against Akron. On October 20, he started a four-game stretch where he recorded 192 yards and two touchdowns, 156 yards and three touchdowns, 155 yards and two touchdowns, and 117 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in those games. Overall, in his last season with the Knights, he had 1,106 rushing yards, 15 rushing touchdowns, 27 receptions, 231 receiving yards, and four receiving touchdowns. He finished his college career with a total of 2,424 rushing yards, 37 rushing touchdowns, 50 receptions, 524 receiving yards and 6 receiving touchdowns.

College statistics

Professional career

Murray was regarded as a sixth to seventh round selection according to

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. Murray was not invited to the

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...

, but garnered much attention with an impressive performance at Central Florida's Pro Day. Murray weighed in at 6-foot-2 5/8 and 223 pounds, ran the

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

in 4.4 and 4.38 seconds, registered a 10-foot-4 broad jump and a 36-inch vertical jump, ran 4.36 seconds in the short shuttle and 6.81 seconds in the 3-cone.

Oakland Raiders

2013 season

Murray was selected by the

with the 181st overall pick in the sixth round of the

. He was the 15th running back to be selected in that year's draft. The Raiders signed Murray to a four-year, $2.26 million contract on June 6, 2013. It also included $106,200 guaranteed and a signing bonus of $106,200. On August 27, 2013, before the start of the regular season, Murray was placed on injured reserve, ending his rookie season before it started.

2014 season

After being third on the depth chart for the first half of the season behind veterans

Darren McFadden Darren McFadden (born August 27, 1987) is a former American football running back. He played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks and was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the first round with the fourth overall pick of the 2008 NFL Dra ...

and

Maurice Jones-Drew Maurice Christopher Jones-Drew (born March 23, 1985), often called "MJD", is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins and earned unan ...

, the Raiders turned to Murray in Week 11 to provide a spark after ineffectiveness by McFadden and Jones-Drew all year. He responded by totaling 59 yards on seven carries against the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

. On November 20, 2014, he finished with four carries for 112 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, marking his first career touchdown against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

. It also marked the first rushing touchdown the Chiefs defense allowed all season and his 90-yard touchdown marked the longest rush for the Raiders that year. The solid performance by Murray contributed to the Raiders' first victory of the 2014 season. After having success on his first three attempts, he suffered a concussion on his fourth carry and was taken out of the game. Murray returned to play against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

in Week 14 and finished the 24–13 victory with 23 carries for 76 rushing yards. In the next game, he earned his first NFL start against the Chiefs and had 12 rushing attempts for 59 yards. In Week 16, he gained 86 yards on 16 carries and had his second consecutive start against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

. Murray remained the starting running back for the last three games of the season and finished his first year with 82 carries, 424 rushing yards, and two rushing touchdowns in 15 games.

2015 season

Murray entered the season as the Raiders' number one tailback and was expected by the Raiders to receive the majority of the carries after the retirement of Maurice Jones-Drew and the departure of

. As expected, he began the season as the Raiders' starting running back and had 11 attempts for 44 yards in the season-opening 33–13 loss to the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

. Two weeks later, Murray ran for a career-high 139 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries in a 27–20 win over the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

. On November 1, against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

, he had 113 rushing yards in the 34–20 victory. On

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

, Murray became the first Raider to reach the 1,000-yard mark rushing, since

did in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. His performance of 79 yards on 19 carries, 38 yards on five receptions and a rushing touchdown, helped edge a victory over the

with a final score of 23–20 in overtime. Overall, Murray finished the 2015 season with 1,066 rushing yards and six touchdowns along with 41 receptions for 232 yards.

2016 season

Murray started the season off with a rushing touchdown in three straight games against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

, and

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

. On October 23, against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

, he had 59 rushing yards and two touchdowns. On November 6, in a 30–20 victory over the

, he had 114 rushing yards and three touchdowns. In a 38–24 victory over the

on December 4, he ran for 82 rushing yards and two touchdowns. In a 21–13 loss to the

four days later, he had his third straight game with a rushing touchdown to go along with 103 rushing yards. Murray finished the regular season playing in 14 games and rushing for 788 yards and a career-high 12 rushing touchdowns. On January 7, Murray made his playoff debut in the

Wild Card Round A wild card (also wildcard or wild-card and also known as an at-large berth or at-large bid) is a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that fails to qualify in the normal way; for example, by having a high ranking or winnin ...

against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

. In the 27–14 road loss, he finished with 39 rushing yards and his first NFL postseason rushing touchdown.

Minnesota Vikings

On March 16, 2017, Murray signed a three-year contract with the

. In his opening statement to Vikings fans, Murray stated on his Instagram account: "There wasn't a thought in my mind to try and wear or ask for the No. 28. I have too much respect for

Adrian Peterson Adrian Lewis Peterson (born March 21, 1985) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest running backs in football history. He played college football at Oklahoma, where he set the ...

and so much respect for what he's done and what he means to this organization." During his first press conference as a Viking, Murray announced that he would be wearing #25 in honor of his best friend, who had died in 2016. On March 22, 2017, it was revealed Murray underwent ankle surgery.

2017 season

On September 11, 2017, in the season opener against the

, Murray had two rushes for six yards in his Vikings debut, ultimately being out-shined by rookie

Dalvin Cook Dalvin James Cook (born August 10, 1995) is an American football running back for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State, where he finished his career as the school's all-time lea ...

. However, Cook tore his ACL in a game against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

, creating an opportunity for Murray. During Week 7 against the

, Murray rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown as the Vikings won 24–16. On November 19 against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

, he ran for 95 yards and two touchdowns in the 24–7 victory. In the regular season finale against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

, Murray had 111 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the 23–10 victory. Murray finished his first season with the Vikings with 842 rushing yards and eight touchdowns along with 15 receptions for 103 yards. The Vikings finished atop the

NFC North The National Football Conference – Northern Division or NFC North is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed the "Black and Blue Division" for the rough and tough ri ...

with a 13–3 record and made the playoffs as the #2-seed. In the 29–24 victory over the

in the Divisional Round, Murray ran for 50 yards and a touchdown. In the 38–7 road loss to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

in the

NFC Championship The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...

, he was limited to 18 rushing yards on six carries.

2018 season

In the first five games of the 2018 season, Murray totaled 30 carries for 106 yards and nine receptions for 60 yards in a limited role. In Week 6, against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

, he rushed for a career-high 155 yards and a touchdown in a 27–17 victory. In the next game, a 37–17 victory over the

, he had 69 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Murray finished the 2018 season with 578 rushing yards and six touchdowns along with 22 receptions for 141 yards.

New Orleans Saints

On March 13, 2019, Murray signed a four-year, $14.4 million contract with the

2019 season

Murray made his Saints debut in the season opener against the

, rushing six times for 43 yards and a 30-yard touchdown in the narrow 30–28 victory. During Week 7 against the

, he rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns in a 36–25 road victory. In the next game against the

, Murray rushed 21 times for 102 yards and a touchdown and caught nine passes for 55 yards and a touchdown in the 31–9 win. Murray finished his first season with the Saints with 637 rushing yards and five touchdowns along with 34 receptions for 235 yards and a touchdown.

2020 season

In Week 4 against the

, Murray rushed for 64 yards and his first two rushing touchdowns of the season during the 35–29 win. In Week 12 against the

, he had 19 carries for 124 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 31–3 victory. He was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

list by the team on January 2, 2021, and activated on January 6. Overall, Murray finished the 2020 season with 146 carries for 656 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns to go along with 23 receptions for 176 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. The Saints released Murray on September 7, 2021, after he refused to take a pay cut.

Baltimore Ravens

On September 10, 2021, the

signed Murray following injuries to J. K. Dobbins,

Justice Hill Justice Hill (born November 14, 1997) is an American football running back for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma State and was drafted by the Ravens in the fourth round of the 201 ...

, and Gus Edwards. In his debut against the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...

, he had 28 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, but the Ravens lost in overtime 27–33. He was named the starter in Week 4 against the

. In the Week 18 regular season finale against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, he had 16 carries for 150 rushing yards and a touchdown in the 16–13 loss. He finished the 2021 season with 119 carries for 501 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns.

New Orleans Saints (second stint)

Murray was signed to the Saints practice squad on September 13, 2022. He was elevated to the active roster on October 1, 2022.

Denver Broncos

Murray was signed off the Saints practice squad by the

following a season-ending injury to

Javonte Williams Javonte Williams (born April 25, 2000) is an American football running back for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Carolina and was drafted by the Broncos in the second round of the 2021 ...

NFL career statistics

Personal life

Murray lives in Florida with his wife and four children. In 2020, he earned a

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from the

Martin J. Whitman School of Management The Martin J. Whitman School of Management is the business school of Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. Named after Martin J. Whitman, an alumnus and benefactor of the school, the school was established in 1919. The Whitman School offer ...

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

References

External links

*
New Orleans Saints bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Latavius 1990 births Living people American football running backs Baltimore Ravens players Denver Broncos players Minnesota Vikings players New Orleans Saints players Oakland Raiders players People from Onondaga, New York Players of American football from New York (state) UCF Knights football players Unconferenced Pro Bowl players Martin J. Whitman School of Management alumni