Running back Roy Helu Jr. was formally released by the Oakland Raiders after being placed on the injured reserve list on Friday.
The 27-year-old running back had gone through surgeries for both hips during the offseason after being with the Raiders for only one year.
As reported on Tuesday, Helu only played for one season for the Silver and Black and accomplished 39 yards on 17 carries. The running back also caught for 75 yards on nine catches, and only accomplished one touchdown in the nine games that he participated.
Roy Hely Jr. was signed by the Washington Redskins during the 2015 offseason and was expected to be the backup for Latavius Murray.
However, his performance did not amount to what was expected since Helu ran with some injuries lingering during the season.
Losing out to new players
Now that Helu decided to get his lingering injury problem solved, the Oakland Raiders figured they would move on without him.
During camp, this offseason, both fifth-round draft pick DeAndre Washington and undrafted rookie Jalen Richard have been pretty impressive.
Washington seems to be holding the backup role while Richard seems to have the No. 3 position on lock down.
Helu was a major backup running back for the Redskins from 2011 to 2014 before going to the Raiders.
With the Redskins, Helu holds the record for the most receptions in a game from the 2011 season.
With Nebraska during his college years, Helu was the Nebraska Offensive MVP for the years of 2009 and 2010.
Career Stats with the NFL
- Rushing yards 1,166
- Rushing touchdowns 7
- Receptions 136
- Receiving yards 1,204
- Receiving Touchdowns 4
Helu was hired to hold the same job with the Oakland Raiders in 2015, but the pieces did not fall in the right places for him.
He was used as the No. 3 back in 2015 by the Raiders and did not live up to what was expected of him.
Again, he was playing with some lingering injuries and perhaps he could have done better. In the end,
Roy Helu Jr. had a decent run with the Redskins and that could be enough to be possibly picked up by another team to fill in a backup running back role.
