After rushing for an NFL-best 1,845 yards in 2014, running back DeMarco Murray left the Cowboys in free agency and signed a five-year, $42MM deal with NFC East rival Philadelphia. Sunday will be Murray’s first matchup against Dallas, which chose him in the third round of the 2011 draft and helped him develop into an elite running back. And, if not for the Eagles’ decision to pursue Murray after trading LeSean McCoy and losing to Indianapolis for Frank Gore‘s services, Cowboys COO Stephen Jones believes Murray might have continued his career in Dallas.
“I still think today we could have gotten him if Philly had not jumped in,” Jones said, according to Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News. “I don’t think he would have gone to Oakland or Jacksonville, but they came in at the last second and got [the price] up there.”
More on Murray and his former team:
- Murray said earlier this week that facing Dallas will be “a normal game,” but Jarrett Bell of USA Today believes otherwise. Bell opines that Murray has a chance to make a statement Sunday against the team that let him go and help give Philly an early edge in the NFC East race.
- Cowboys owner Jerry Jones effusively praised quarterback Tony Romo on Friday, according to the Morning News’ Jon Machota. 105.3 The Fan. “He is a quarterback that can win Super Bowls. He’s a franchise quarterback,” Jones told 105.3 The Fan. “[W]e’re getting the best of him now, and the best of him is probably, in my mind, the best there is.” Jones added that, if Romo doesn’t win a Super Bowl with Dallas, it’ll be the “biggest disappointment” of the owner’s long tenure.
- Running back Christine Michael, whom Dallas acquired from Seattle before the season, sat out last week and also won’t play this Sunday. After that, it’ll be “a little bit of a wait-and-see type of deal,” Stephen Jones told 105.3, per Machota. “I feel like I’m ready to go,” said Michael, who averaged a terrific 4.9 yards per carry on just 52 attempts during his first two seasons.