DeMarco Murray - Pro Football Rumors

NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Giants, Curry

November 4th, 2015 at 9:10am CST by Luke Adams

Having waived running back Joseph Randle this week, the Cowboys parted ways with a player who had been expected to pick up a good chunk of DeMarco Murray‘s carries this season. Still, as Schuyler Dixon of The Associated Press details, Randle’s disappointing 2015 campaign isn’t making Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones second-guess the decision to let Murray walk in free agency back in March.

“That ship’s sailed,” Stephen Jones said. “We’d make that decision over, same decision, we’d make it again. We have to develop, structure a football team with the salary cap. You can’t pay a top receiver, a top quarterback, a top pass rusher, a top left tackle. You’ve got to make hard decisions.”

As the Cowboys prepare to move on with Darren McFadden and Christine Michael leading their rushing attack, let’s check in on a few more items from around the NFC East….

With the Cowboys‘ top decision-makers insisting they have genuine interest in locking up Greg Hardy to a extension, former agent Joel Corry of CBSSports.com breaks down three possible contract structures that would somewhat limit the risk for the team.
Like every other team in the NFL, the Giants ultimately stood pat on Tuesday as the trade deadline came and went. According to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com, that was the right call for the club, which he feels is ultimately a “rebuilding team” in the big picture. As such, it wouldn’t have made sense for New York to move future draft picks.
Vinny Curry had his name circulated in trade rumors over the last few days, but Eagles head coach Chip Kelly said the defensive end wasn’t discussed in trade talks. As Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes, Curry is used to the trade speculation surrounding him, and was unfazed by it this week.

Extra Points: McCourty, Pats, Murray, Cowboys

November 3rd, 2015 at 8:48pm CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots tried hard to get cornerback Jason McCourty from the Titans, but in the end they simply could not get a deal done, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. McCourty, selected in the sixth round of the 2009 draft by the Titans, is one of Tennessee’s more effective defenders, racking up 85 tackles to go along with three interceptions a year ago. After missing the first month or so of the season with a groin injury, McCourty has been active for the team’s last four games.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

The Cowboys cut ties with Joseph Randle today, but COO Stephen Jones says that he still doesn’t regret letting DeMarco Murray walk in free agency, as Rainer Sabin of The Dallas Morning News writes. The Cowboys face Murray for the second and final time this regular season on Sunday night.
Representatives from San Diego, St. Louis, and Oakland will make presentations to a joint meeting of the NFL’s Los Angeles committee and the Stadium and Finance Committees next week, according to Kevin Acee of U-T San Diego (on Twitter).
Tight end Ryan Griffin, who is on the Texans‘ IR-DTR list, says he’ll begin working out with the team on Monday, according to Mark Berman of FOX 26 (on Twitter). The tight end adds that he feels good and believes that he’s ready to go.
Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com found it interesting that Titans GM Ruston Webster was not at the podium facing questions about the direction of the franchise as interim CEO/president Steve Underwood and interim coach Mike Mularkey spoke. Of course, after Ken Whisenhunt was shown the door, it’s fair to wonder what will happen to Webster. At the same time, the two execs spoke highly of him at the press conference.

East Notes: Eagles, Patriots, Bills

October 16th, 2015 at 8:13pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Eagles made a pair of noteworthy free agent signings at running back in the offseason when they added DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews. As last season’s NFL rushing champion, Murray signed a far bigger contract than Mathews (five years and $42MM versus three years, $11MM). Their performances this year haven’t reflected their disparate deals, however, as Mathews has easily outplayed Murray. Both backs have a similar number of carries (49 for Murray, 41 for Mathews), but Mathews has averaged an impressive 5.0 yards per attempt against Murray’s paltry 2.7.

To his credit, Murray took the notion of an increase in Mathews’ touches in stride, per Dave Zangaro of CSNPhilly.com.

“Hey, whatever they decide,” Murray said. “I can only control what I can control. I can’t control the plays being called or who’s in on different situations.”

In assessing Mathews, Murray stated, “I think he’s running it great. Obviously, he’s a tough running back, tough to defend, tough guy to bring down and I think he’s been doing well.”

How the two have played this year might not matter this week, as Mathews could miss the Eagles’ key game against the NFC East rival Giants with a groin injury. That would give Murray a chance to sink or swim as the unquestioned go-to back. The fifth-year man has fared respectably of late, rushing 28 times for 119 yards and a touchdown over the last two weeks. He accrued season highs in carries (20) and yards (83) in the Eagles’ 39-17 win over the Saints last Sunday.

Now the latest regarding a couple of AFC East teams:

Bills receiver Sammy Watkins spoke out Thursday about the lack of targets that came his way before he suffered a Week 3 injury. His issues seem to lie with quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who could miss Sunday’s game against the Bengals with a knee injury. That would make EJ Manuel the Bills’ starter under center, and Manuel expressed support for Watkins on Friday (via The Buffalo News’ Tyler Dunne). “I think as quarterbacks, we like to hear our receiver is hungry and wants to make plays.” Manuel and Watkins seemingly established a rapport during their limited work together in 2014: Manuel targeted Watkins 32 times in four games, per Chris Trapasso of NFL.com (Twitter link). On the other hand, in two-plus games this year, Taylor has targeted Watkins 12 times.
With the Patriots weakened at cornerback thanks to Tarell Brown‘s foot injury, they could turn to stalwart safety Devin McCourty for help at the position against the Colts this weekend, writes Phil Perry of CSNNE.com. McCourty came into the league as a corner in 2010 before eventually making the transition to safety. Head coach Bill Belichick used McCourty at corner at times over the summer in the event he’d be needed there this year. That looks as if it could happen this week, as New England is down to Malcolm Butler, Logan Ryan, undrafted rookie Justin Coleman, and newly added waiver-wire pickup Rashaan Melvin at the positon.
In other Patriots news, the team will promote offensive tackle Cameron Fleming from its practice squad to its 53-man roster, tweets ESPN’s Mike Reiss. The former Stanford Cardinal spent all of last season on the Pats’ 53-man roster and played in seven games after they used a fourth-round pick on him.

Injury Updates: 9/27/15

September 27th, 2015 at 10:38am CST by Rory Parks

We’ll keep an eye on any major injury news throughout the course of the day and add to this post as necessary to reflect any updates:

DeMarco Murray is inactive for the Eagles this afternoon, per Howard Eskin of Fox 29 Philadelphia (via Twitter). Murray has been bothered by a hamstring injury, and though he had been expected to play today, his hamstring did not respond well to his morning workouts. It is unclear how the injury will impact his status moving forward, but at this point it appears as though he should be ready for Week 4.

Earlier updates

NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport says Saints QB Drew Brees, who has already been ruled out for Week 3, is a long-shot to return for his team’s Week 4 matchup against Dallas (Twitter link). Interestingly, Rapoport adds in a separate tweet that Brees’ injury, which has been called a bruise, is actually a rotator cuff sprain. A sprain indicates a stretch or tear in a ligament, and we heard from ESPN’s Ed Werder just a few days ago that Dr. James Andrews had confirmed Brees did not, in fact, suffer a torn rotator cuff. This is not the first time in recent memory that Werder and Rapoport have delivered conflicting news regarding a major injury; the two well-known scribes also issued differing reports on when Dez Bryant might return to the field in 2015.

Cowboys Notes: Murray, Jones, Michael

September 19th, 2015 at 6:07pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

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.”

NFC East Notes: Murray, Maxwell, JPP

September 17th, 2015 at 10:50am CST by Zachary Links

Now that the Cowboys and DeMarco Murray have gone their separate ways, Rainer Sabin of The Dallas Morning News isn’t sure if either side is better off. On Sunday, Dallas rushed for 80 yards, 12 fewer than its lowest total last season. The following night, Murray gained 20 yards from scrimmage in his debut with the Eagles. While many view both rushing performances as anomalies, Sabin seems concerned that it’ll be a pattern. Here’s more from the NFC East as the Cowboys gear up for an awkward interaction with their ex..

Some believe that the Cowboys let Murray go because they chalked his production up to the play of their offensive line more than the running back himself. Coach Jason Garrett says that the real reason for not matching the Eagles‘ offer was simply about money, as Ed Barkowitz of the Philadelphia Daily News writes. “We had a situation where we had a few different guys [whose contracts were up], who hit free agency at the same time,” Garrett said. “In a salary-cap era, unfortunately, you can’t keep everybody.”
Eagles cornerback Byron Maxwell hasn’t been living up to the fat contract he signed in free agency but he’s confident that he can “fix” the problems he had in Week 1, as Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “I understand that’s what it’s going to be,” the $63MM corner said of the criticism he’s received. “They’re going to react like that. They’re going to love you when you do well and hate you when it goes the other way. That’s part of the business that we’re in. You’ve got to take one on the chin and keep moving. Keep going. You can’t let it bother you too much.”
Will Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul be the same player going forward after his fireworks accident? He sure seems to think so, based on a tweet he sent out Thursday morning. “I can’t think of the last time my index finger got me a sack ;),” JPP wrote.

East Notes: Giants, Murray, Petty

August 16th, 2015 at 11:01am CST by Rory Parks

One New York-area scribe opined last night that the Giants may be forced to scour the free agent market in an attempt to bolster their injury-ravaged secondary. Today, Jordan Raanan of NJ.com examined New York’s options in that regard, which are less than inspiring. Cornerbacks Chris Cook and Alfonso Dennard are available, but both come with their fair share of question marks, and the veteran safety options like Thomas DeCoud and Quintin Demps are not much better. Raanan expects the Giants to bring in younger, less familiar players with some upside to fill out their depth chart.

Now let’s have a look at a few more notes from the league’s east divisions:

Rainer Sabin of The Dallas Morning News says the biggest reason the Cowboys were willing to let DeMarco Murray leave in free agency is the talent of its offensive line, which the team believes can pave the way for its current, less expensive crop of running backs. Thus far, the line has picked up right where it left off in 2014.
Washington GM Scot McCloughan has made it clear that Chris Cooley is not an option as the team seeks to add depth to its decimated TE corps (Twitter link to Zac Boyer of The Washington Times).
Manish Mehta of The New York Daily News believes rookie QB Bryce Petty could be the Jets‘ long-term answer under center, but he will need to be brought along slowly for that to happen.
Dolphins left tackle Branden Albert is steadily increasing his workload in training camp, according to Omar Kelly and Chris Perkins of The Sun-Sentinel. Albert is getting closer to his goal of starting Miami’s regular season opener, and may even see some preseason game action.
The Bills currently have 11 wide receivers on their roster, and they will have to cut roughly half of them by the time the regular season opens. Per Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News, the team’s coaching staff believes at least one of the players that will be cut will be a significant contributor elsewhere, which speaks to the depth of Buffalo’s receiving corps. It’s a good problem to have, but it will create a number of difficult decisions in the coming weeks.

NFC Notes: 49ers, Cards, Cowboys, Bucs

June 19th, 2015 at 8:43pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Although the 49ers had a hectic offseason highlighted by the departure of head coach Jim Harbaugh and surprise retirements of Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, Chris Borland and Anthony Davis, newcomer Darnell Dockett is unfazed by the team’s troubles. The longtime Cardinals defensive tackle signed with the 49ers before Willis, Smith, Borland and Davis retired, but he’s confident the club will overcome an adverse offseason and find itself in the thick of what should be a highly competitive NFC West race in 2015.

“I’ve been in the division for so long, everybody’s aiming for the top teams, so I was getting a lot of criticism and people saying, `Oh, man, why’d you go to San Fran?’ and `Why’d you do this, everybody’s jumping ship? You should have went to Seattle,’ Dockett, 34, told the Associated Press.

“I’ve been playing in this league for so long, it don’t matter the players that depart the team. It’s all about the chemistry and things you build in July and August. Everybody’s got to play the game on Sunday.”

Dockett, who missed the 2014 season with a knee injury, expects to be ready for training camp next month. The three-time Pro Bowler is also excited to play for new coach Jim Tomsula.

“I’ve had the utmost respect for Jim throughout my career. After every game we met on the 50-yard line and always talked football,” Dockett said.

In other NFC news. . .

Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington – whom the NFL suspended for four games in 2013 and all of 2014 because of multiple substance-abuse violations – is expected to miss time this year because of domestic-violence issues, but he told Mike Jurecki of Fox Sports 910 that he’s “confident that something will work out.” Washington added that he’ll be ready for training camp in August.
The Cowboys elected early in the offseason to place the franchise tag on star receiver Dez Bryant and let reigning rushing champion DeMarco Murray become a free agent. Those decisions led to acrimony between the team and Bryant, who still hasn’t signed his one-year franchise tender and only has until July 15 to reach a long-term deal with Dallas, and Murray’s departure to NFC East rival Phildelphia. However, if given the chance to reverse course, tag Murray and let Bryant hit free agency, the Cowboys wouldn’t do it, according to Rainer Sabin of the Dallas Morning News.
The Buccaneers will try to make first overall pick Jameis Winston’s transition from Florida State to the pros as smooth as possible. One method they’re exploring includes using “virtual reality” technology to help the quarterback, writes Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times.

Minor Moves: Monday

May 18th, 2015 at 5:01pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves..

The Buccaneers have signed safety Derrick Wells, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com (on Twitter). The Lehigh, Florida native was one of the players in attendance for the team’s rookie mini-camp.
The Cowboys welcomed back fullback Tyler Clutts on a one-year deal and cut Jed Collins, as Todd Archer of ESPN.com tweets. Clutts joined the Cowboys late in 2013 and played in every game last season, helping DeMarco Murray to an NFL-high 1,845 yards.
The Giants removed Thomas Gordon from their injured reserve with an injury settlement, Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun tweets.
The Patriots have said goodbye to Cameron Gordon and Devin Gardner, Wilson tweets. Gardner was a former quarterback at Michigan and was looking to transition to wide receiver in the NFL.
Washington signed linebacker Alonzo Highsmith while waiving Brey Cook, James Gayle, LaKendrick Ross, wide receiver Tyler Rutenbeck, and quarterback Connor Halliday, as John Keim of ESPN.com tweets. Halliday’s release was just formality after he abruptly announced his retirement from football.
The Saints announced the signings of linebacker Henry Coley, kicker Zach Hocker, offensive lineman Antonio Johnson, wide receiver Josh Morgan, and wide receiver Kyle Prater, as Larry Holder of The Times-Picayune tweets. To make room, offensive lineman Doniel Gambrell, guard Andrew Miller, and linebacker Stephon Sanders were shown the door while New Orleans waived/injured receiver Malcolme Kennedy (link).
The Titans announced (on Twitter) that they have agreed to terms with tight end Tevin Westbrook and outside linebacker Dezmond Johnson. Running back Lache Seastrunk and outside linebacker Dontay Moch were waived.
The Toronto Argonauts signed former NFL linebacker Brian Rolle, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Rolle, 27 in November, was drafted by the Eagles in the sixth round of the 2011 draft. His last NFL gig was with the Steelers, who signed him on a futures/reserve contract in 2013. Meanwhile, the Argos said goodbye to wide receiver Mike Thomas and safety David Sims, who both have had multiple stops in the NFL (link).
Wide receiver/kick returner DeShon Foxx has agreed to terms with the Seahawks, accoridng to Wilson (on Twitter).
The 49ers signed Mylan Hicks and Justin Renfrow, according to Wilson (on Twitter).
The Seahawks signed Earnest Pettway and Charles Tuauu, according to Wilson (on Twitter).
The Chiefs cut Curtis Feigt with a non-football injury designation, Wilson tweets.

NFC Notes: Romo, Murray, Ryan

March 31st, 2015 at 10:40pm CST by Zachary Links

When DeMarco Murray was hoping that the Cowboys would sign him to a long-term deal earlier this month, the Pro Bowl running back made a bold request to his quarterback, as Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News writes. “DeMarco ended up asking me, ‘Why don’t you take a pay cut?’ I said, ‘I will. I would take a pay cut to go do this,'” Tony Romo told 105.3 The Fan. “I was like, ‘They’re going to restructure me.’ That’s the same thing in some ways, just for the salary cap purposes. He was like, ‘OK, now we’re back to being friends, again.’ I would take $5MM less if meant getting him back.” More from the NFC..

As part of his contract with the Falcons, quarterback Matt Ryan is scheduled to receive a $12MM deferred payment today, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com. The payment won’t have an impact on Ryan’s 2015 cap number, which remains at $19.5MM.
Now in charge of the team’s personnel decisions, Eagles coach Chip Kelly has shown a predilection for going after injured players. Phil Sheridan of ESPN.com looked at the injured veterans that Kelly has picked up and their current status heading into April.
As the weeks tick down, the Vikings‘ draft possibilities remain wide open, Tom Powers of the Pioneer Press writes. Currently, the consensus appears to be that Minnesota will select Michigan State cornerback Trae Waynes with the No. 11 pick, but of course, nothing is certain and much will depend on how the first 10 picks unfold.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.