There's been an assumption making the rounds after it was reported that DeMarco Murray had called Chip Kelly and revealed his desire to join the Oklahoma/Oregon college revolution Kelly is building in the place where the Philadelphia Eagles NFL franchise once stood, that Murray's potential signing would mean the end of the second short-lived free agent running back pact for the Eagles.
Not so, according to reports.
Former NFL scout and NFL analyst John Middlekauff revealed that despite the growing assumption that signing Murray would mean a quick and dirty end to the unofficial Ryan Mathews era in Philly - conjuring thoughts of the Frank Gore tenure that-never-was - sources have told him Kelly would actually like to keep both running backs.
"I've been told from multiple people the #Eagles trying to sign Murray has no impact on signing Ryan Mathews. Chip wants them both," Middlekauf tweeted.
The Eagles and Mathews, a 27-year-old former first-round draft pick of the San Diego Chargers, reportedly agreed to a three-year, $11.5 million deal Wednesday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Mathews had not yet arrived in Philly to sign the deal, so nothing was official, but all that remained was for Mathews to take a physical and put pen to paper.
That is, until it was reported late Wednesday that Murray, the former Dallas Cowboys running back and last season's NFL leading rusher, apparently unhappy with the offers he was receiving from the Cowboys and on the free agent market and sufficiently enamored with Kelly's trade for his former college teammate and roommate, quarterback Sam Bradford, had personally called the Eagles coach to express his desire to join his former NFC East rival.
The assumption then became that the arrival of Murray - slated to meet with Kelly Thursday and reportedly intent on signing a deal, per Schefter - meant the end for Mathews.
According to Middlekauf's report, that's not the case.
With Darren Sproles and Chris Polk already in place, it would seemingly create something of a logjam at the position, with Polk the assumed loser of such a scenario.
Still, as we've seen repeatedly already this young NFL season, assumptions can make fools of us all.
