With Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray lighting the NFL on fire in a contract year, talk has begun to build in and around Big D about what, exactly, the team should do to keep Murray in silver and blue going forward.
In a recent question and answer session with fans, Bob Sturm of Dallas News said that, were it up to him, he'd keep Murray using the franchise tag - unless one very unlikely scenario unfolded: suspended Georgia running back Todd Gurley fell to the Cowboys in the first round of next year's NFL draft.
I would have to decide on Murray before I knew if Gurley would fall to me. Also, Gurley would not fall to a team that might draft really, really late in Round 1. So, I would love to replace DeMarco with Gurley, but given what I can control, I would franchise Murray next spring for 1 year.
Replacing Murray with Gurley wouldn't be guaranteed of course and the fact that you'd have to make a definitive decision on what to do with Murray before the draft even started makes this an even more difficult proposition.
That being said, most running backs - Gurley included - would be almost guaranteed to find at least some modicum of success with the offensive line the Cowboys currently boast.
As for the remainder of this season, another fan questioned Sturm about what kind of impact Murray's potential loss would have on the run game - and on the team as a whole.
A significant impact. Murray is remarkably solid and complete. I think they would be able to get by, but everything would be affected. Ryan Williams can run well, and I assume he would be the full-time back if Randle did not take it and run right away. But, they need Murray to play 14 games.
