They say to be wary of athletes who go out and have big seasons in their contract years. That typically goes double for athletes who have big contract years and a pretty extensive injury history.
Well, Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray fits that description to a tee. Through five games of the final year of his rookie contract, Murray leads the NFL in rushing. He's got 670 yards and five touchdowns.
He's also suffered hamstring and knee injuries in college, and has yet to play a full 16-game season since entering the NFL.
But it sounds like Cowboys chief operating officer Stephen Jones and Coach Jason Garrett aren't planning on shying away from Murray at all.
In fact, it sounds like they're planning on making a long-term commitment to Murray - for what will most likely end up being a whole lot of money.
"Historically, I don't comment on negotiations until they're over," Jones said Monday on 105.3 "The Fan" [KRLD-FM]. "I've been consistent in saying that we want to keep our good football players on our team. And I've been consistent in saying DeMarco Murray is one of those guys that we want to keep around. Not only is he a good football player, but better than that, he's a top notch individual."
Jones continued to praise Murray's athletic ability, along with his character.
"He's a great leader on this team. He stands for all the things we want to have as a Dallas Cowboy. We'll do anything and everything we can to keep him. It's got to make business sense for him. It's got to make business sense for us."
Jones says that Murray's injury history will be one of many considerations for the team when it comes to contract extension negotiations with the running back and his agent.
"I think we'll take a lot of things into account," Jones said. "Everybody has got to be understanding of the dynamics that are going on in the NFL as far as running backs are concerned. No one is hoping and cheering more for DeMarco than me, in terms of hoping this streak continues and hoping he continues to help carry this team in terms of the type of playing he's doing right now running the football. It's the full body of work at the end of the day. We're lucky to have DeMarco. But at the same time ... a lot of things that go into how ultimately you figure out how a player gets paid, and we'll be looking at all of those dynamics."
Murray, even after carrying the ball a career-high 31 times against Houston this past weekend, said he felt great. There is concern that Murray's heavy workload will spell doom for his career longevity.
"I don't see any wear and tear in DeMarco," Garrett said Monday, "but having said that, we want to make sure we create a rotation and we'll focus on doing that in the next few weeks... We have to be mindful of his carries. We've got to make sure we take care of him over the course of the season."
Murray is, no doubt, hoping they take care of him - physically and monetarily.
