12:44pm: If and when it becomes official, Murray’s deal with the Eagles is expected to be worth $42MM over five years, with $21MM guaranteed, according to Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Schefter adds (via Twitter) that $18MM of that guarantee is for both skill and injury.
12:04pm: There’s a lot of guaranteed money in the Eagles’ offer to Murray, and significantly more than the Cowboys are offering, according to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports and Todd Archer of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Schrager adds (via Twitter) that Philadelphia is prepared to pay Murray like a top-five running back.
11:21am: Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link) also expects the Eagles to get a deal done with Murray, adding that it will likely come in around $6MM per year.
11:16am: Murray, en route to Philadelphia, is expected to sign with the Eagles, tweets Schefter. While nothing is official yet, the Cowboys are calling around for other running backs in anticipation of Murray signing with the Eagles, Schefter adds (via Twitter).
8:54am: The meeting between the Eagles and Murray will take place early this afternoon and will include Chip Kelly, who isn’t at Oregon’s Pro Day, tweets Peter Schrager of FOX Sports. Meanwhile, John Middlekauff of 95.7 The Game tweets that the Raiders wanted Murray and were “very aggressive financially,” but still appear to be on the outside looking in
8:05am: Free agent running back DeMarco Murray is visiting Philadelphia today, and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com says the NFL’s leading rusher intends to sign with the Eagles. That doesn’t mean it’s a done deal yet. Schefter notes that Murray would consider a final, last-minute offer from the Cowboys, so there’s a chance this is a negotiating tactic. However, it looks like Murray is prepared to jump from one NFC East team to another if Dallas doesn’t make a satisfactory offer.
The Raiders and Jaguars have also been frequently mentioned as potential Murray suitors, but at the moment it appears that the running back’s top two choices are the Cowboys and Eagles, in some order. As Schefter notes, part of the reason Murray is interested in Philadelphia is because of his belief in the team’s chances to win — Oakland and Jacksonville are a little further away from contention.
Based on yesterday’s round of Murray rumors, it sounds as if the Cowboys’ most recent offer to their running back was in the $5MM per year range. Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports confirms today (via Twitter) that Dallas would like to keep Murray at around that price, so if the Eagles are willing to go to $6MM per year or higher, there will be pressure on Jerry Jones and company to increase that offer.
One interesting wrinkle that affects the Murray situation is the status of Ryan Mathews. The former Chargers back reportedly agreed to terms with the Eagles yesterday, but has yet to officially sign his contract. It would be surprising if the team backed out of an agreement with Mathews if there was one in place, but it’s still worth monitoring as Murray heads to Philadelphia.
I’m guessing it’s more likely that Ryan Mathews backs out of the agreement if Murray signs.