Saints didn't want to lose Latavius Murray, but 'we're not going to hold any hostages'

LINK
Latavius Murray is no longer on the Saints' roster, and in fact, he never technically was.

That's because despite leading the team in rushing during a Week 4 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, he did so as a "standard practice squad elevation." It's a concept that will be confusing to many, so let's break down the mechanics of how a Saints running back is suddenly a member of the Denver Broncos instead of the New Orleans Saints.First things first: Opposing teams can sign members of another team's practice squad whenever they want, with a few exceptions. If he's coming off a team you're facing the upcoming week, it has to be a minimum of 6 days prior to the game. That's significant in this case, because Phillip Lindsay, a player who came up through the Broncos' system, is currently on the Colts' practice squad. He was elevated for the Thursday night matchup with Indy's star RB Jonathan Taylor dealing with an injury. Because of that time limitation, Lindsay was off the table.

Murray was ultimately left inactive for Denver in Week 5, with another former Saints RB in Devine Ozigbo getting elevated for the game. He was claimed on waivers by Denver during training camp.

Listen to a full discussion on the Latavius Murray signing on the latest episode of Inside Black & Gold. Can't see the embed? Click here.

As it pertains to Latavius, playing for the Saints in Week 4 did not prevent him from signing elsewhere. And that's what he did when the Broncos came calling after starting RB Javonte Williams went down with a season-ending injury. That didn't mean the Saints let him walk out the door without a competing offer. Another member of the Saints practice squad in LB Eric Wilson was signed by the Green Bay Packers, oddly bringing him back to London for the second consecutive week for their matchup with the Giants.

In the past two seasons teams had the option to "protect" certain players from being signed elsewhere. That's no longer the case in 2022. In the end it didn't change anything. The Saints never actually used that function when it was available.