Pros and Cons of Lions Adding RB Latavius Murray

In news not expected to be seen leading into Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season, veteran NFL running back Latavius Murray was cut by the New Orleans Saints Tuesday, after refusing to take a pay reduction.

Saints are releasing RB Latavius Murray, per source. They asked for a pay reduction yesterday and he refused. Murray is coming off his best season, averaging 4.5 yards per carry and 7.7 yards per catch.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 7, 2021

The 31-year-old Murray was coming off a solid season, during which he averaged 4.5 yards per carry and 7.7 yards per catch.

He's also averaged 4.2 yards per rush throughout his career -- which started in 2014 with the then-Oakland Raiders -- and 4.3 rushing yards per attempt the last three seasons.

Don't expect the Central Florida product to stay unemployed for too long.

Could he be a fit in the Detroit Lions' backfield in 2021?

For starters, new Lions offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn plans on placing a heavy emphasis on running the football this upcoming season. So, it's feasible to expect Lynn & Co. to feature at least two back on a regular basis throughout the '21 campaign.

Going into Detroit's Week 1 contest against the San Francisco 49ers, those two backs will be D'Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams.

However, Swift has battled the injury bug early on in his NFL career, including all throughout training camp this summer. If he were to go down for any extended period of time, Williams would assume the No. 1 RB duties in Motown.

That's fine and dandy, but such a situation would leave a void at the No. 2 spot on the Lions' running backs depth chart.

Sure, Detroit also presently has running backs Jermar Jefferson and Godwin Igwebuike on the 53-man roster. However, both are unproven players, with no experience of playing the position in regular season action at the NFL level.

Heck, two months ago, Igwebuike was lining up at defensive back.

Murray would be a clear-cut upgrade over both Jefferson and Igwebuike for the No. 2 RB job.

Plus, Murray has familiarity with Lions head man Dan Campbell and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn from their days spent together in New Orleans.

At the end of the day, Murray might be too old and expensive for the Lions' liking, and maybe he'd be a better fit with the organization if it were a contender going into this season.

However, if I were Detroit general manager Brad Holmes, I'd strongly consider adding Murray to the squad's season-opening backfield.