Latavius Murray Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Raiders RB Latavius Murray suffered a head injury in the 3rd quarter of Sunday's game.  He went limp on the play and fumbled the ball.  Murray was able to walk off the field but will be evaluated for a concussion.

Raiders RB Latavius Murray tallied 16 touches in Sunday's loss to the Broncos ... but none after the midway point of the 3rd quarter.  HC Jack Del Rio said afterward that Murray is "banged up."  He was limited in practice this past week and listed on the injury report with a shoulder.  Murray has a Week 6 bye to get healthy.  We'll keep an eye on his status coming out of it.

NFL Insider Adam Caplan passes along “major buzz” among coaches and execs on Raiders RB Latavius Murray. Per Caplan, the organization believes Murray is a “great fit” for their style of offense. The 6’3, 230-pounder fits the physical profile for a team that will look to establish the run. With eye-popping measurables and the upside for 275+ touches, Murray could push for RB1 value this season.

Raiders RB Latavius Murray has been "getting all the 1st-team reps" in training camp so far, according to insider Vic Tafur.  As much as we like RB Roy Helu, there's been nothing out of Oakland to suggest that he's a legitimate threat to Murray's starting job. The Raiders' coaching staff seems completely on board with Murray as their guy.  “For a big guy, Latavius has extremely good quickness,” offensive line coach Mike Tice said. “And when he gets behind his pads, he is hard to tackle. Smaller linebackers might be in serious trouble.”  It doesn't sound like workload is a concern for Murray.  Durability, inexperience and a still-questionable Raiders offense remain potential issues, but Murray is capable of returning value at his 5th-round price tag.

Raiders RBs Latavius Murray and Trent Richardson will compete for the starting job, HC Jack Del Rio said at the owners meetings.  That's not what Murray's dynasty owners want to hear.  But if it's a true competition, Murray will run circles around Richardson.  Murray averaged 5.2 yards per carry last year; Richardson has never topped 3.6 in 4 NFL seasons.  Murray ripped off 4 runs of 20+ yards on 82 carries last year; Richardson has 4 total runs of 20+ yards on 614 career carries.  We just have to hope the Raiders make the right evaluation and use Murray as the lead back.

ESPN's Adam Caplan reports that the Raiders have reached a deal with RB Roy Helu. Oakland's backfield certainly presents opportunity, with Latavius Murray as the leading incumbent despite just 82 career carries to date. Maurice Jones-Drew retired this offseason, and Darren McFadden's a free agent. There's room for both Murray and Helu to play significant roles, though we could see Helu continue to serve primarily as a pass-catcher. He caught 49, 31 and 42 passes in his 3 mostly healthy seasons with Washington. Fox Sports' Mike Garafolo reports that Helu's deal is for 2 years and a little more than $4 million. Of course, Marcel Reece seems like he'll continue to go under-utilized.

New Raiders OC Bill Musgrave said he'll "tailor" his run game to RB Latavius Murray.  That's refreshing to hear after Oakland essentially ignored Murray for most of last season.  When they finally unleashed him, he ripped off 370 yards and 2 TDs on 72 carries (5.1 YPC) across 5 games.  Musgrave said that he has a "very positive" impression of Murray and touted his "size and speed."  With a feature-back workload, Murray is capable of high-end fantasy production in 2015.

The Raiders have named Bill Musgrave their new OC.  Musgrave has run the offense for 4 different NFL teams in the past, most recently the Vikings from 2011-2013.  Those squads ranked 18th, 20th and 13th in total yards.  The passing games struggled, but Musgrave was working with Christian Ponder, Donovan McNabb and Matt Cassel.  He has more talent in Oakland in QB Derek Carr.  RB Adrian Peterson averaged 19.9 carries and 103 yards per game (5.2) yards per carry under Musgrave.  That included his 2,097-yard 2012 campaign.  Musgrave's arrival looks like a boon for RB Latavius Murray's stock.  Musgrave spent this past season as QB coach in Philadelphia, so we're interested to see if he picked anything up from Chip Kelly's offense.

Raiders RB Latavius Murray (concussion) is active for today’s game against the 49ers. He showed us his upside by scoring twice on 4 carries a couple weeks ago. But sharing carries in a tough matchup today, Murray is a risk/reward RB3 or flex.

Raiders RB Latavius Murray (concussion) is officially probable for Sunday’s game against the 49ers after making it through the week of practice without a setback. Murray is still expected to share carries with RB Darren McFadden, though. That, plus the difficult matchup, leaves him as a risk/reward RB3 .

Raiders insider John Middlekauf hears that RB Latavius Murray (concussion) has been cleared to play against the 49ers on Sunday.  He just needs to avoid a setback over the next few days.  With Murray sidelined last week, RBs Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew combined for 48 yards on 16 carries (3 YPC).  That will only make it easier for Oakland to give Murray more touches in Week 14 and beyond.  Unfortunately, Sunday's matchup with the league's 3rd-ranked RB defense leaves Murray as just a RB3 or flex.

Per Raiders beat writer Vic Tafur, RB Latavius Murray (concussion) will miss Sunday’s game against St. Louis.  Murray saw some practice time earlier this week, but he hasn’t cleared the last hurdle of the NFL’s concussion protocol.  Without Murray, Oakland will roll with a committee involving Darren McFadden, Maurice Jones-Drew and Marcel Reece.

Raiders insider John Middlekauf hears that RB Latavius Murray (concussion) is "not likely" to play against the Rams on Sunday.  Murray has been cleared to practice but not to play in games yet.  He still has 48 hours to do so, but owners can't be counting on having him available for Week 13.  If Murray can't play, Darren McFadden would continue to serve as Oakland's lead back.  He's hands-off in fantasy against the league's 7th-ranked RB defense.

Raiders RB Latavius Murray (concussion) has been cleared to practice.  He still has another stage of the concussion protocol to get through, but he's on track to do so ahead of Sunday's game against the Rams.  Murray will be the best bet to lead Oakland's backfield in touches in that one, but Darren McFadden will likely still be involved.  And the tough matchup leaves Murray as just a RB3 or flex for Week 13.

Raiders HC Tony Sparano said Friday that he's not turning the backfield over to a healthy RB Latavius Murray just yet. “I know what he did, but he played nine plays and unfortunately got hurt. He had a heck of a run,” Sparano said, per ibabuzz.com. “He also had the ball out one time which we need to get corrected. Like any young player there is a progress you’ve got to see before you feel like you’re going to put him out there in those situations. I’ve had to see that in practice, and little by little I’ve seen it and this has kind of been where it has gone.” It makes sense for a coach to want to make sure his young player stays motivated, but it doesn't take a professional scout to see that Murray's the best back in Oakland. We'd expect him to at least get the biggest share of carries once he returns from his concussion.

Raiders RB Latavius Murray left in the 2nd quarter of Thursday night's game with a head injury.  It's a tough break after he took 2 of his 4 carries for TDs, including a 90-yarder.  We'll see if he can pass his baseline concussion tests and return.

Update: Murray has been ruled out for the rest of the game with a concussion.  He'll have 10 days to get cleared in time for Oakland's Week 13 game against the Rams.  Once healthy, Murray figures to play a significant role down the stretch.  He's worth rostering in all fantasy leagues.

With Raiders RB Maurice Jones-Drew (hand) looking unlikely to play against the Texans this weekend, HC Dennis Allen suggested that RBs Darren McFadden and Latavius Murray could share backfield duties.  "We'll start with Darren, and it probably will be more series-wise with Latavius and Darren," Allen said.  McFadden remains the superior fantasy play, but he's a shaky RB3 or flex.  Murray shouldn't be in Week 2 fantasy lineups but is an intriguing stash. 

Raiders insider Scott Bair believes RB Latavius Murray is "poised to make an impact in the regular season."  His rookie year was cut short last August by an ankle injury that eventually required 2 surgeries.  Murray wasn't back to 100% until May but now looks "healthy and strong," per Bair.  Murray will likely open the season as Oakland's #3 RB, leaving him short on reliable fantasy value.  But the 2 guys ahead of him on the depth chart -- Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew -- have missed a total of 21 games over the past 2 seasons.  Consider Murray an intriguing late-round sleeper in deep fantasy drafts.

Raiders RB Latavius Murray's 2013 rookie campaign was cut short by a preseason ankle injury.  He was impressing the coaching staff before that, though, and the Raiders are excited to see what he can bring to the backfield this coming season.  “I think Latavius is one of those guys that we’re anxious to see be healthy and get out there and play,” HC Dennis Allen said. “He’s a big back that’s got excellent speed and excellent size. He runs tough."  Murray certainly passes the eye test.  He goes 6'3, 230 pounds with 4.38 speed.  And his final season at Central Florida produced 1,106 rushing yards, 231 receiving yards and 19 total TDs.  The Raiders are fully expected to let free agent Darren McFadden walk, although they're reportedly interested in bringing back Rashad Jennings.  Even then, Murray has the potential to beat out Jennings for the starting job.  He'll be worth keeping a close eye on this summer and needs to be owned in all keeper and dynasty leagues.