Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane made Latavius Murray’s representation a very interesting promise that helped to land the veteran running back during day three of the NFL Draft.
During the Buffalo Bills’ run of recent success, there has one been once consistent weakness. And that has been an underwhelming running attack. Despite their best hopes, Devin Singletary never developed into the type of player that could bring legitimate balance to an offense that has one of the best passing attacks in the sport.
Related: Top NFL free agents of 2023 – Ranking the best players available from 1-400
That is why many assumed the Buffalo Bills might address that issue in the offseason. However, during the height of NFL free agency, the team chose not to invest in big-name talent on the open market. That is why the NFL Draft seemed like the next best route to identify a running back who could finally be an impact player for them.
Yet, days one and two of the event came and went and the organization decided to use their picks on other positions. If they didn’t draft a back in the final four rounds, it would have been viewed as a monumental mistake by the team. Yet, they didn’t take one with either of their day three picks and instead signed nine-year veteran Latavius Murray.
- Latavius Murray stats (2022): 892 total yards, 6 TD
Buffalo Bills record (2022): 13-3, first place in AFC East
Heading into the three-day event, conversations between the Buffalo Bills and Murray had already started, and it seems a last-minute conversation and promise made by the team’s GM was able to finally lock up the deal on Saturday afternoon.
“That was actually done while we were still drafting. I reached out to his agent on Saturday and I was like, ‘There’s still some backs I can draft, but I could use some picks elsewhere at some different positions if you’ll go ahead and do this deal. I won’t draft a running back.’”
– Brandon Beane to NewYorkUpstate.com
It is an unusual promise to make but a worthwhile risk if Beane felt confident the former Raider, Viking, and Saint was far better than any player left on the board. With the Buffalo Bills starting running back spot wide open heading into camp, Murray may have seen the guarantee of even less competition as better odds for him to land the RB1 spot in the depth chart.