The 35-year-old, a sixth-round pick by the Raiders in 2013 out of Central Florida, played 45 games for the Raiders, 32 with the Vikings, 16 with the Bills, 14 with the Ravens and 12 with the Broncos. His final season was in Buffalo.
“I played last in ’23, was trying to get an opportunity in ’24,” he said. “Didn’t get that opportunity, so I think that was harder, just going through that and actually wanting to play, wanting to be out there and trying to train and stay ready.
“So, fast forward, and I considered getting back to it – working out, training, staying in shape and all that. But it also is that thing of, what the offseason grind recommends and the work that you have to put in and everything that goes into an offseason.
“It was like, I don’t think I could give it again, especially doing that the previous year and not getting a call. And I didn’t want to cheat the game, I didn’t want to cheat myself and then family, wife, kids – I didn’t want to cheat them in a sense, going into something that I knew somewhat that it might be time to turn the page on.”
Murray, who currently is coaching running backs and is running game coordinator at Titusville (Fla.) High School, now will focus more on his foundation: The Jon Diaz Community Center Foundation, named after his deceased best friend. The goal is to build a community center in Nedrow, N.Y., that will, among other services, provide emotional and social support, child care, youth services, youth leagues, adult leagues, an indoor playground and fitness activities.
Fund raising for the project stands at $8.5 million, with a projected overall cost of $15 million. Murray said the hope is to break ground in spring 2026 and open in 2027.
“We’ve been fortunate and blessed,” he said. “We have a lot but in the grand scheme of things, $1 million is a lot of money, so we’ve just got to keep it going. More motivation and more energy than we used to raise the first half.”