Bills RB Latavius Murray is ready to compete for a team close to home

May 01, 2023 at 04:57 PM

Maddy Glab

Team Reporter

After the draft, Bills general manager Brandon Beane told media that he wasn't finished putting the roster together just yet. Then on Monday morning, Beane added another weapon to the offense as the Bills signed running back Latavius Murray to a one-year deal.

The 10-year vet came to Buffalo on a visit a few weeks back and was hoping the Bills would be the team he'd end up with.

"It just went good," Murray said of his visit, which included meeting with several coaches and Brandon Beane. "I knew they had the right guys in charge here, the right culture, the right organization. Met the owner as well. It went good."

Murray added: "I was definitely hoping that it played out this way. Seeing how the draft played out that I'd be getting that call. So, thankful for the opportunity to be here and very grateful and just excited."

Once you've been in the NFL for 10 seasons, you're bound to have connections with almost every NFL team. Murray has those in Buffalo, but it goes even beyond that. The RB grew up just outside of Syracuse, NY, which is less than two and a half hours away from Buffalo.

Murray says he visits home a few times a year and is excited to play for a Super Bowl contender that's not far from family.

"I think we have an opportunity to compete for a championship, so that's first and foremost," Murray said of why he wanted to play for the Bills. "And then, growing up just a few hours from here, I think it's just a really cool to be able to come back to the state of New York and play football, especially at this stage of my career."

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Since 2014, Murray has played in 135 games and has amassed more than 6,200 rushing yards, 1,500 receiving yards and scored 57 total touchdowns.

The RB spent last season playing for the Broncos and the Saints. In his 12 games with the Broncos he had 160 attempts for 703 rushing yards and scored six rushing touchdowns.

The 6-3, 230-pound running back believes he offers the Bills RB room something that can help the offense.

"I think it starts there just bringing a different element to the backfield, to the running back room," Murray said of his skillset. "You got James (Cook), you got Nyheim (Hines), you've got Damien (Harris), really all different, different in size even. I just think there is some versatility that I do have even with being bigger. But, what stands out first and foremost is my size and my speed at that size."

Murray played two seasons with Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs when they were both a part of the Vikings roster from 2017 to 2018. In those two seasons, Murray had over 1,400 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns. Being a part of the Minneapolis Miracle team together, the RB wants a shot at a championship again with his friend.

"We want to go after that ring again together," Murray said. "He's always been a friend of mine. A lot of respect for him, a lot of respect for what he does on the field. But he's a competitor, and I respect that the most. And so, I look forward to chasing it with him again."

Diggs isn't the only wide receiver that Murray knows on the Bills. He and Gabe Davis are both UCF products and train together in the offseason.

"We've trained together these past two offseasons and developed a great relationship," Murray shared. "Just got out of doing some rehab together. He's a great friend. He's another competitive, hard-working young guy that I've enjoyed being around.

"He's actually made me better just from being around him in the offseason, so I look forward to playing with him now."

Since the offseason program has already started for the Bills, Murray put pen to paper on Monday and got right to work.

"Went out for a walk through right after I signed and then workouts," Murray said. "(I'm) now talking to you guys. So yeah, excited to get to work. Excited to learn and get up to speed as quick as possible, get comfortable, so I can just make an impact."

Murray was originally drafted by the Raiders in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft and Buffalo will mark the seventh different home for the NFL journeyman.