The Minnesota Vikings can easily opt out of the running back’s current contract this offseason, but did he earn a second season with the team?
Prior to the 2017 NFL Draft, it seemed likely that Latavius Murray would open the upcoming regular season as the starting running back for the Minnesota Vikings. However, the Vikings decided to select Dalvin Cook in the draft and the rookie was eventually named the team’s starter for Week 1 after an impressive preseason and training camp.
Murray, who was still recovering from offseason ankle surgery, saw some time on the field during Minnesota’s first few games. But it was nothing that allowed him to make much of an impact for the Vikings’ offense.
However, after Cook suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 4, Murray and fellow running back Jerick McKinnon were called upon to make up for the rookie’s absence for the remainder of the year.
With Cook out, Murray saw a big increase in his playing time. From Week 1 to Week 4, the running back only managed a total of 16 touches. During the first two games after Cook’s injury, Murray got his hands on the football 30 times.
Minnesota’s Week 7 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens turned out to be the running back’s coming out party. During the Vikings’ 24-16 win, Murray carried the ball 18 times for 113 yards and one touchdown.
In Minnesota’s next four games, the running back scored a total of four touchdowns while averaging 18 carries and 72 rushing yards per matchup. Murray was playing more like the player the Vikings thought they were getting when they signed him to a $15 million contract last March.
Speaking of his contract, the running back still has two years remaining on his current deal with Minnesota. If they wanted, the Vikings could decide to release Murray this offseason and only endure a cap hit of $1.2 million.
Is that something Minnesota should actually consider doing?
Based on Murray’s 2017 performance and the running backs that are currently under contract for next season, it would be best for the Vikings to keep the veteran rusher around for at least one more year.
McKinnon is a free-agent this offseason and he has already said that he would like to be with a team that will give him a bigger role than what Minnesota can offer him. Cook is expected to be ready for the start of the 2018 regular season, but the Vikings should still have a quality, second running back to pair with him in the backfield.
Minnesota Vikings
Considering how successful Minnesota’s offense was able to be this season, it seems safe to assume that they would like to run a similar scheme in 2018. Meaning the performance of their running game would still be tremendously important to the offense’s success.
Toward the end of the 2017 season, Murray established himself as the Vikings’ bruising, north-south rusher while McKinnon was used in more pass plays and runs to the outside. There’s no reason to think that Minnesota cannot do similar things in 2018 with Cook taking over McKinnon’s role in the offense.
Knowing what they have in Murray will allow the Vikings to take some of the workload off of Cook’s shoulders next season as well. The young running back was pretty much a three-down player during his four games in 2017 and his injury might have been the result of Minnesota not giving him enough rest time in those matchups.
Next: Who will be the Vikings' starting QB in 2018?
With the combination of Cook and Murray, the Vikings having one of the NFL’s best running back duos in 2018 doesn’t seem that insane of a thought to have.