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However, who he will be playing for next year is irrelevant. The Cowboys will be just fine without last year's rushing leader.
Because while Murray is a tremendous talent and will more than likely rush for plenty of yards when the two teams play each other in the future, running backs are more fragile than ever.
That's especially true for ones like Murray, who endured such a large number of carries. For some insight on how much of a beating a running back takes, refer to Football Outsiders' "Curse of 370," per Aaron Schatz. The rule of thumb states "a running back with 370 or more carries during the regular season will usually suffer a major injury or loss of effectiveness the following year, unless he is named Eric Dickerson.
Well, Murray racked up 392 carries last year to go along with 57 catches, so he was hit repeatedly throughout the 16-game season. And his name is definitely not Eric Dickerson. In fact, he has a long history of injuries, and there is a good chance that he will fall prey to the Curse of 370.
But even if he doesn't show any signs of that wear and tear and is able to sustain his productivity for the next few years, the Cowboys were smart to not match the Eagles' extremely high $42 million offer.
Honestly, as good as the Dallas offensive line is, a professional running back with any kind of talent will be able to churn out boatloads of yards. They will likely not be able to match Murray's explosiveness, but the Cowboys should be able to run the ball effectively no matter who lines up in the backfield.
Whether it's newly signed back Darren McFadden, Joseph Randle, Lance Dunbar or someone else, the dominant Cowboys offensive line will be able to open up holes and control the line of scrimmage against nearly every opponent.
And even if the Cowboys do not agree with my perspective, there is always the NFL draft. There are a slew of quality running backs whose name will be called in April's draft, and if the Cowboys feel the need to bolster that area then they should.
Todd Gurley, Melvin Gordon and Ameer Abdullah are the top three options, according to CBSSports.com, and all three could thrive in Dallas' balanced offensive attack.
Ultimately, the Dallas front office has done a fantastic job of loading up on offensive linemen in the past couple of drafts, and now that strategy is paying dividends. The front-office personnel just saved themselves a ton of money by letting Murray walk to a division rival—money that could be used elsewhere or not at all.
Don't get me wrong, Murray was an absolute beast last year. But he is an NFL running back—a position clearly known for its lack of longevity—and he is definitely replaceable.
Whoever gets the majority of the carries in Dallas may not possess Murray's speed or playmaking ability, but he will likely be playing at a much cheaper price and nearly as effective.
The Cowboys made the right call on this one, and one shouldn't expect much regression from the Dallas offense in 2015.
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