DeMarco Murray Release From Philadelphia Eagles Likely

A DeMarco Murray release is something that is actually being considered by the Philadelphia Eagles, according to NBC Sports.

Back in March, there was some excitement in the City of Brotherly Love when the Philadelphia Eagles signed DeMarco Murray to be their star running back. The fan base was quite familiar with him since they witnessed up close and personal when he broke the Dallas Cowboys single season rushing record held by the legendary Emmitt Smith. The hope was that Murray would be able to be as productive with the Eagles. There was also excitement because signing DeMarco meant that the Cowboys were weakened a little.

All that hope and excitement vanished pretty early on in the season for the Philadelphia Eagles. DeMarco Murray had only 47 yards and a single touchdown through the first three games, all of which were losses for the Eagles. Philadelphia has only seen their new running back rush over 100 yards thus far this season. Murray also only has four touchdowns. Both the Eagles organization and fans were expecting a lot more than that when they signed him to a $42 million contract. Chip Kelly had to reduce DeMarco’s role in the offense.

NFL players rarely ever are happy when they are removed from their position. The situation is even worse when they are coming off of a career season and just signed a huge contract. DeMarco Murray is obviously not happy that Chip Kelly has reduced his role with the Philadelphia Eagles. At 27 years of age, the former Oklahoma Sooners star does not want to see the prime of his career being wasted as a backup running back. Murray wants to get as many yards and dollars as he can before his time in the NFL is over.

USA Today reported that DeMarco Murray met with Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeff Lurie on the team plane. The two of them reportedly talked about Murray’s role in the offense. People in the NFL usually try to downplay things, but politics exists in every locker room. Some feel that DeMarco leaked his meeting with Lurie to the media in an attempt to force Chip Kelly to release him. Others feel that Kelly and the coaching staff leaked the information so that they would be a little bit exonerated if they decided to cut an expensive free agent.

A DeMarco Murray release is not something that Chip Kelly wanted to deal with this season. He knew that the Philadelphia Eagles had issues with the quarterback position. Kelly was hoping that Murray would have been the guy to alleviate his concerns in the offensive back field. Instead, it has become one of his biggest issues as the head of personnel. Releasing DeMarco is going to be expensive for the Eagles. He will get to walk away with a $5 million signing bonus, a $3 million roster bonus, his $1 million base salary, and a fully guaranteed $7 million base salary in 2016.

Todd Archer of ESPN believes that there will be plenty of NFL teams interested if the Philadelphia Eagles pull the trigger on a DeMarco Murray release. The Dallas Cowboys are believed to be one of them, as the team now realizes that it was a mistake to assume that any running back could run behind their dominant offensive line. Many have tried for the Cowboys, but Dallas has yet to see anyone come close to producing on the same level that Murray did for them in 2015. A reunion makes a lot of sense as both sides know that they needed one another more than they initially thought.

[Featured Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images]