DeMarco Murray’s troubles with the Philadelphia Eagles do not appear to be in the rear-view mirror. If anything, based on a report by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, this saga is just getting started.
Early Sunday morning, Rapoport reported the Eagles as having “weighed all options with DeMarco Murray, even sitting him. Either way, Darren Sproles will be featured. His colleague at NFL Network, Albert Breer, confirmed this report, adding some context to why this is the case.
Eagles don't see enough burst or ability to make guys miss from Murray. Sproles will get run. Mathews' snaps will be based on conditioning.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) December 13, 2015
On Murray: Call to move away from him was based on merit. Sense is Mathews would take his role, they just need to see him after 3 weeks off.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) December 13, 2015
Essentially, what these reports are indicating is that Chip Kelly and his staff view Murray as a fourth-string back for them. At the very least, we can assume he is no longer considered a featured back. After his limited roles the past three weeks (13, 14 and eight carries), we can also assume he’s going to be a disgruntled player the rest of the way, even if he does say he’s “100 percent” on board.
It’s a tremendous fall from grace for last year’s league-leading rusher, but the numbers don’t lie. Even if this is a case of being in the wrong system, Murray’s production has been pitiful this year, averaging just 3.5 yards per carry with three touchdowns.