Dallas Cowboys’ running back DeMarco Murray’s future with the team is still undecided for the moment. However, if the Cowboys find some strategic way to work a deal that would keep Murray in Dallas, his workload will reportedly be limited.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones shared this while speaking about Murray at the NFL Scouting Combine (via ESPN).
I don’t think we would go into a season now with Murray thinking that he was going to have the load that he had last year. I don’t believe we would.
Murray is such a warrior and Murray is such a horse, he’d actually get upset if you took him out of the game. But it was (not) the thing to do for Murray to let those guys have more touches. Now, why did we go along with it? We just happened to be doing you know what? Winning. We were very successful so itâs hard to make that change.
How much of a workload did Murray actually have in 2014? Murray carried the rock exactly 392 times compared to his previous high of 217 carries in 2013. He rushed for an incredible 1,845 yards, scored 13 rushing touchdowns while averaging 24.5 touches per game. With these numbers, Murray was undeniably the leading rusher for the 2014 NFL season. However, towards end of the season, Murray suffered a hand injury. The wear and tear over the course of the year was evident by his lack of late-season success.
Murray’s amazing ground work also helped quarterback Tony Romo achieve one of his best statistical seasons. Should the Cowboys let Murray walk—or run in his case—one might suspect that the Cowboys used their workhorse to the max versus preserving him knowing that they were planning on letting him roam into another team’s pasture for 2015.
Photo: CBS