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| On 6 years ago

Report: Latavius Murray Restructures Contract to Remain a Viking

By Sean Borman

Image courtesy of Vikings.com

To address the big news from last night, Courtney Cronin of ESPN reported Minnesota Vikings running back Latavius Murray agreed to restructure his contract. Earlier this week it was reported that Murray would be approached to take a pay cut. If he had refused, the team would have likely cut him.

Instead, Murray accepted a restructured deal to remain a Viking. Murray’s 2018 base salary of $5.15 million was scheduled to guarantee yesterday. With Dalvin Cook expected to return from injury, the team sought to cut down on the $8.35 million they were spending on running backs — sixth-most in the league according to OverTheCap.com.

The 28 year-old started 11 games last season, rushing for 842 yards with eight touchdowns. He averaged 3.9 yards per carry during the regular season but only averaged 2.9 YPC in the playoffs.

Murray was acquired by the Vikings as a free agent last offseason. He signed a three-year, $15 million deal on March 15, 2017. The Vikings would have taken on $1.2 million of dead money if Murray was cut.

Terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed.

The Vikings, who apparently hosted Sheldon Richardson and an unknown player for dinner last night, now have their leading rusher from 2017 back in the fold as well as more cap flexibility to sign free agents.

Related

UPDATE

Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune reported the details of Murray’s restructure. The move includes a base salary dip to $3.65 million along with a reshuffling of his workout and per-game roster bonuses. It results in $1.15 million in cap savings for the Vikings.

Sean Borman

Sean Borman is a writer with Minnesota roots that's a Vikings optimist. He was an intern with the Vikings during college and is an IT nerd by day. You can find him on the golf course during summer and on Twitter @SeanBormanNFL.

Tags: Dalvin Cook Latavius Murray

View Comments

  • Reading several place that the unknown player is Tyrann Mathieu. Not sure how true,

  • I am both surprised and pleased the Vikings were able to make this happen. I see a lot of players signing for less than I expected. It looks like a lot of guys are shopping for a chance to get a ring.

    • Same here, I thought he would be cut. Smart move by Murray IMO. He'll be a free agent after the season but I'm excited to see the Cook/Murray/Rookie(?) dynamic in 2018.