Titans Finalizing Trade Deal for DeMarco Murray

Just one day into the NFL’s legal tampering period for player contracts, and it appears the first big move of the offseason is about to be made.

According to ESPN’s NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Tennessee Titans are in the midst of finalizing a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles for running back DeMarco Murray. It is expected that the trade will be ready in time for the official start of the new league year on March 9.

While it is not yet known what the Eagles will be receiving in return, it looks like fresh head coach Doug Pederson is already signing off on moves that will slowly but surely remove any evidence of the previous regime. Under Chip Kelly, the Eagles wheeled and dealed for two straight seasons with little to show for it.

Murray was one of the team’s more forgettable acquisitions, joining the Eagles from the division rival Cowboys, with whom he rode the Great Wall of Dallas to a career year on the ground. But don’t let his unsexy numbers fool you; the downhill runner was a poor fit for the fast-paced Eagles’ offense, and not by his own fault.

Philly inexplicably ran the hard-running Murray almost exclusively out of the shotgun, asking him to not only learn a brand new and highly unique offense, but to thrive in it immediately. Tennessee offers a more conventional scheme, but an improvement at running back won’t be enough to fix the team’s offensive holes.

Already holding the number one pick in the draft, the Titans are expected to draft a starting-calibre offensive lineman – most likely Ole Miss’ Laremy Tunsil – to help keep their most valuable investment healthy. QB Marcus Mariota looked more than capable of leading the offense in his rookie season, but was shut down with four games to go. Limiting his number of hits will be high on the Titans’ priority list in 2016.

But part of that comes from an enhanced running game. Murray is a more palatable option that any of Tennessee’s current rushing corps – including Dexter McCluster, Bishop Sankey and Antonio Andrews – and will be a welcome fit into what is very much still a work in progress.