The Facts: Murray is being allowed to hit the market with all signs indicating he won't be back. No one is saying that out loud, mind you. "I wouldn't close the door prematurely on anybody," head coach Jack Del Rio said last week at the NFL combine.

Diehards Line: But as Chronicle staffer Vic Tafur suggests, Murray's departure, along with the presence of the biggest and one of the best offensive lines in the league, makes Oakland a desirable location for running backs. And it seems like a day doesn't go by where Adrian Peterson's agent or dad isn't telling a national reporter how much he likes the Raiders. Oakland is intrigued by Peterson -- who wouldn't be with a future Hall of Famer? -- but a deep free-agent market and running-back class in the draft likely means GM Reggie McKenzie won't rush to make a decision here. Paying running backs -- especially one who turns 32 next week -- a lot of money is not something that the GM really believes in doing anyway, while giving an incentives-heavy deal to former Packers heavyweight Eddie Lacy might be more to his liking.