DeMarco Murray Rumors: Wednesday

As perhaps the most noteworthy free agent still on the board this week, DeMarco Murray will be receiving plenty of attention today, as potential suitors vie for his services. Until the longtime Cowboys running back reaches an agreement with a new club, or at least starts closing in on a deal, we’ll track today’s Murray updates right here, with any new items added to the top of the list throughout the day:

• ESPN’s Ed Werder says the Cowboys, Eagles and Raiders are “getting very competitive” for Murray’s service (Twitter link).
• One of the teams pursuing Murray is under the impression that the running back will return to the Cowboys, according to ProFootballTalk (on Twitter).
• Newly-signed Raiders linebacker Curtis Lofton said he’s trying to recruit Murray to Oakland, according to Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune (via Twitter). The duo were both standouts for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Earlier updates:

• Albert Breer of the NFL Network says (on Twitter) that Murray understands where the Cowboys and Jaguars are with their offers, but the running back is still seeking more money. Despite Murray’s demands for about $8MM annually, Breer says that market isn’t there yet.
• Ed Werder of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears that the Eagles weren’t even interested in Murray until he called them today. Philly has already signed Ryan Mathews for $5MM guaranteed and they have Darren Sproles in the mix, so they don’t have a major need for Murray.
• Werder (on Twitter) senses that Murray’s decision could come soon. The Jaguars are not actively involved, the Raiders are offering the most money, and the Cowboys have the advantage right now over the Eagles.
• Things are heating up on the Murray front, and the situation will likely come to a head later today, tweets Pro Football Talk.
• The Eagles appear to be Murray’s top choice besides Dallas, according to Robinson (Twitter link). The Raiders and Jaguars trail Philadelphia, and one league source doesn’t believe Jacksonville will make a significant offer.
• Mutual interest between the Eagles and Murray was renewed after a personal phone call between the running back and head coach Chip Kelly, says Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com, who notes (via Twitter) that Murray was Sam Bradford‘s roommate at Oklahoma. However remains to be seen how much the Eagles would be willing to offer Murray, since Kelly stressed today he won’t overpay for anyone, tweets Mortensen. For his part Bradford said today that he’s been trying to recruit his old college teammate (Twitter link).
• A source tells Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link) that, before Murray removed mention of the Cowboys from his Twitter account earlier this week, the team made him an offer worth $5MM annually.
• Despite reaching an agreement with Ryan Mathews (as noted below), the Eagles remain very much in the mix for Murray, according to multiple reporters, including Adam Schefter and Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Per Peter Schrager of FOX Sports (Twitter link), it could ultimately come down to the Eagles and Cowboys.
• Jaguars GM David Caldwell said he spoke to Murray’s agent last night, but there’s no movement right now, tweets Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com.
• A source with knowledge of Murray’s situation tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that the idea of the back signing with the Jaguars is currently “not likely.” That could change if the Jags up their offer, or if the NFL’s leading rusher agrees to take less money than he wants, says Florio.
• As we heard last night, the Raiders maintain interest in Murray despite signing Roy Helu, tweets Ed Werder of ESPN.com. According to Werder, multiple teams have made offers to Murray.
• Earlier today, a report indicated that Ryan Mathews is expected to sign with the Eagles, pending a visit with the team. It’s not clear how that would affect the team’s interest in Murray, but I can’t imagine Philadelphia would pursue him too aggressively if Mathews was under contract.