DeMarco Murray sweepstakes heating up; set to visit Eagles on Thursday
The most of the top tier free agents in the NFL have either signed or agreed to sign contracts with their new or current teams as of Tuesday night. Although most of the big-name players on the open market like Ndamukong Suh, Darrelle Revis and Randall Cobb are already off the table almost two full days in NFL free agency, arguably the best running back in the league still remains without a team moving forward.
During the 2014 NFL season, DeMarco Murray had a breakout year and became the most dominant force out of the backfield in the NFL. The Dallas Cowboys having one of the best offensive lines in football definitely played a major part in Murray’s success, but the veteran running back wants to get paid for his production on the gridiron.
As of right now, it appears the Murray sweepstakes is down to three teams with the Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles and Oakland Raiders in contention. Although the Raiders can offer the most money and Dallas is in the best position to contend next season, Murray has scheduled a visit to Philadelphia for Thursday, according to ESPN’s NFL Insider Adam Schefter:
So DeMarco Murray is flying to Philadelphia, C.J. Spiller is flying to New Orleans and RBs are going to start flying off the board.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 12, 2015
With the Eagles recently trading star running back LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills, there appeared to be an opening in Philadelphia with Murray being the best candidate available to replace him. Although Murray was there for the taking, the Eagles decided to sign Ryan Matthews formerly of the San Diego Chargers.
Despite the recent signing of Matthews, Philadelphia continues to pursue Murray to bolster their backfield with Matthews and Darren Sproles. Many believe Murray’s visit to Philadelphia is a way to force the Cowboys to pay more in order to keep him. Murray’s agent may also be stringing along the Raiders to drive up the price in Dallas.
In 16 games with the Cowboys last season, Murray racked up 2,261 yards from scrimmage to go along with 13 rushing touchdowns. Murray turned 27 last month and still has plenty of seasons of producing at a high level ahead in the NFL if able to stay healthy.
