/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58963587/usa_today_10488226.0.jpg)
Lost in all the hubbub surrounding the Rams allocating more cornerbacks than a child does pogs and Marquise Goodwin getting an extension, the Tennessee Titans released DeMarco Murray on Thursday. This indicates they will go with Derrick Henry as their feature back.
In his two games that he started, Henry averaged a whopping 5.3 yards per carry, which probably was enough for the front office to realize they could go younger and cheaper.
And no, the 49ers should not go after Murray.
After a career year in 2014 with the Dallas Cowboys that netted Murray 1845 rushing yards, Murray has become ordinary. In the three seasons since, Murray has managed to break 1,000 rush yards only once and doesn’t come close in his other two seasons. Some of this can be allocated to the shared carries he has with the backfield with the Titans this year, and the systematic fit he had with Chip Kelly’s system with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015. Either way you look at it, Murray will be hitting the 2018 season at 30 years old and it’s safe to say, he’s not Frank Gore.
49ers running back Carlos Hyde, who is set to hit free agency next week has had his share of criticisms shouldering the load as a feature back, but managed to average 4.2 yards a carry his three years of starting compared to Murray’s 3.8 yards.
Murray does have the yards as a pass catcher, which could be a fit in Kyle Shanahan’s offense, but given his age, and Kyle Shanahan’s ability to find talented running backs through the draft, a play on Murray seems like it’d be unnecessary.
Do you think he could work in San Francisco?