The dominos have begun to fall when it comes to shaping of the Cowboys 2015 roster and it started when the Cowboys announced they have franchise tagged Dez Bryant with the non-exclusive tag. The announcement was a mere formality, we all knew this was coming, so there aren’t any surprises here.
The attention now shifts to DeMarco Murray. The Cowboys are reportedly going to let Murray test free agency and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has a list of teams that could be interested in his services.
The Cowboys are going to let other teams set the market for Murray.
“[Murray] is probably going to, you know, get some peace and see what’s out in the market and then we’ll talk and see. I do believe deep down he’d love to stay in Dallas,” Jones told FOX Sports.
The risk in letting Murray talk to other teams is that they may not let him walk out the door unsigned, and in that case, the Cowboys would have an opening at running back.
The Cowboys have two running backs under contract: Joseph Randle and Ryan Williams
Lance Dunbar is a restricted free agent, so we’ll see if the Cowboys tender him. Even if Dunbar is on the roster, we’re looking at a possible running back by committee and we know how that worked for the Cowboys before — not very good.
The Cowboys have had a plan in place for awhile and they are now executing that strategy when it comes to the running back position. I believe the Cowboys will either draft a running back between the first three rounds or they will find a back in free agency.
There are a whole slew of running backs that will be floating around once free agency kicks off, but the name to watch will be Mark Ingram.
NFL.com has an article outlining the Best fits for top free-agent running backs and they have Ingram as their #2 back to watch.
2. Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints
The Saints don’t have the cash to re-sign him, but Ingram shouldn’t have trouble finding work. He ran with newfound fury last season, looking like the league’s best back for stretches when healthy. Despite his career-high 964 yards last season, Ingram is just 25 years old with plenty of gas left in the tank.
Free-agent fit: Cowboys: Assuming Murray bolts, Dallas must find his successor. Ingram would make for a nice hard-charging fit behind a rock-solid O-line.
Ingram was highly touted coming out of college and he didn’t really catch on in New Orleans. The Saints have been more about the passing game than the running game and as a result Ingram did not have many touches. I’m sure there are other reasons for the low touches, and that’ll be something that Will McClay will have a handle on. McClay’s bread and butter has always been finding talent from other rosters and there’s no doubt the background work has been done on Ingram.
The whispers of Ingram have been growing since the Pro Bowl, as some saw Ingram’s performance as an audition for Jason Garrett. Ingram was on Garrett’s Pro Bowl roster and ran for 72 yards on 11 carries. He did run pretty hard in the game if you didn’t see it, he looked good. It’s a stretch I know, but that’s how some whispers grow from a whisper to full-on contract talks.
Mark Ingram was drafted in 2011 and at the time, there were several mock drafts that had Ingram to Dallas in the 1st round as the Cowboys were struggling with their running by committee of MB3, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice.
At the time Rick Gosselin said of Ingram:
Ingram has the build (5-9, 215) and running style of Emmitt Smith, who was the backbone of three Super Bowl championship teams for the Cowboys.
Like Smith, Ingram is an every-down player, having caught 60 career passes and scoring four more touchdowns. He also has the genes to succeed. His father Mark started at wide receiver in the 1991 Super Bowl for the New York Giants and caught five passes in that 20-19 victory.
Like Murray, Ingram had his best season in 2014, and will enter free agency with some positive momentum. What I like about Ingram is his age. Ingram just turned 25, so he has the age you would like in a free agent, he has low mileage, and does not fumble nearly as much as Murray did. The Cowboys could really hit a homerun here with Ingram running behind our offensive line.
What I don’t really like are the missed games. If you grew tired of Murray missing time due to injury, then Ingram may give you the same headaches. So buyer beware.
Outside of Ingram, you could possibly get a bargain on an aging Frank Gore or add Shane Vereen into the mix and do the committee business again. Neither of those are very appealing to me.
The Cowboys will let other teams set the running back market, and when the dust settles, they may have the guy they wanted for their desired price.
Ultimately, the Cowboys may just wait and add their running back via the draft. This draft is very deep with backs and a starter quality back could be had in the first three rounds. For me, if Murray is gone, let’s reload via the draft. We’ll see what Dallas has planned soon!
What do you see the Cowboys doing at running back if Murray in fact signs elsewhere?
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