Under then head coach/personnel head Chip Kelly, the Philadelphia Eagles traded running back LeSean McCoy last March in order to avoid paying the remainder of his five-year, $45 million contract.
The reasoning here was rather simple. Running backs are not valued as much in today’s NFL as they were before. So in a sense, it made sense that Philadelphia wouldn’t want to pay McCoy an average of $9 million per season.
The issue here for Kelly was that he went out there and signed reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year DeMarco Murray to an eerily similar five-year, $40 million contract with $21 million guaranteed.
In a “trade” that seemed to be somewhat of an upgrade, Philadelphia was betting the house that Murray would build off what was a dominating 2014 campaign with the Dallas Cowboys that saw him put up over 2,200 total yards.
It also decided to sign the injury prone Ryan Mathews to a three-year, $11 million contract — further throwing out the idea that the McCoy trade was a philosophical switch.
Add in the $4.1 million Darren Sproles counted against the cap, and the Eagles boasted the most-expensive running back group in the NFL last season.
On the field, the results were disastrous. After finishing each of Kelly’s first two seasons in the top 10 in rushing, Philadelphia ranked 14th overall in that category in 2015.
For his part, Murray was a downright failure. Before being relegated to third-string duties under Kelly late in the year, the former Cowboys Pro Bowler averaged 3.6 yards per rush. In fact, he put up 47 yards on 29 attempts in his first three games as a member of the Eagles.
Now that Kelly is in Santa Clara looking to turn around the 49ers, Philadelphia is left trying to clean up his mess — a mess that was created after just one year as the head of the team’s player personnel department.
This task will be left up to old dog Howie Roseman, who himself doesn’t exactly have the greatest of track records when it comes to free-agent decisions.
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported on Thursday that Murray is headed for a showdown with the Eagles’ brass this offseason:
“In fact, Eagles and Murray appear headed toward a stare-down regarding his future with the organization, according to several sources informed of the situation,” Rapoport wrote. “The division boils down to: Murray’s unsuccessful 2015 campaign during which he rushed for only 702 yards, the Eagles’ lack of conviction that he’s the right back and the massive contract Murray signed last offseason.”
This “stare-down,” as Rapoport called it, will likely include Philadelphia looking for Murray to take a pay cut from the $8 million he’s set to count against the cap next season.
The issue with this is that Philadelphia still owes Murray $16 million in guaranteed money — an indication that he holds the upper-hand in any potential rift.
Releasing Murray would mean that the Eagles paid him $3 million per touchdown, $29,915 per rushing yard and $108,808 per rush attempt.
It surely is easier to admit someone else’s mistake. And in reality, that is what the Eagles would be doing if they released Murray.
However, spending that type of cash on a player that contributed very little in one season with the team would be a continuation of the free agent disasters that have plagued Philadelphia for years now.
These are issues that were embedded within the franchise long before Kelly’s heralded arrival prior to the 2013 season.
The question now becomes whether Philadelphia is prepared to cut its losses. It’s a decision that will have wide-ranging ramifications for the team moving forward.
It could also lead to Murray returning home to Dallas while still collecting $16 million in cold-hard cash — a scenario that could backfire big time.