When I checked in yesterday on where things stood for this year’s top free agents, running back DeMarco Murray was the highest-ranked player whose destination was still very much up in the air. That remains the case for the NFL’s leading rusher, but it appears a reunion with the Cowboys is becoming less and less likely.
Late last night, Murray deleted all references to the Cowboys from his Twitter profile. On its own, the move wouldn’t necessary be a sign that he doesn’t expect to return to Dallas, but Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports tweets that in this case, it’s a signal of Murray’s frustration — the veteran back wants to re-sign with the Cowboys, but the team isn’t interested in paying big money for him. One source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that the club hasn’t even called Murray since last week.
If returning to the Cowboys isn’t a viable option for Murray, he could conceivably take his time to choose his next destination. We heard on Monday that he’s approaching the process slowly and carefully rather than rushing into anything, and that makes sense, considering he’s by far the top player on the market.
Monday’s report also indicated that Murray’s camp is confident about landing an offer worth around $8MM per year. Which team might be willing to pay that kind of money for him? The Jaguars may be one candidate. Even after reaching tentative agreements with Julius Thomas, Jermey Parnell, Jared Odrick, and Dan Skuta, the Jags still have plenty of cap flexibility, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter) classifies their interest in Murray as “strong to quite strong.”