One of the other great mysteries of the Eagles offseason, outside of the recently solved question of the quarterback, has been the ongoing story of DeMarco Murray. Is the running back happy in Philadelphia or not?
No one really seems to know at this point. Reports have surfaced that the Eagles and Murray aren't seeing eye to eye, and yet, as Sam Bradford noted at his press conference on Thursday, there were once reports that Bradford wasn't happy either and those proved to be nothing more than fiction.
If you ask Howie Roseman, who clearly has been the man behind the moves for the Eagles this offseason, Murray wants to stay in Philadelphia.
"My last conversation with him was just that," Roseman said on PFT on NBC Sports Radio on Friday. "That he wants to be here and this is the place he wants to have a tremendous amount of success like he had in Dallas.
"I think sometimes we forget a year ago at this time he’s coming off the NFL offensive player of the year. I mean that’s a tremendous honor, tremendous accomplishment to be able to do that and we’re not talking about five, six years ago. We’re talking about one year ago."
Murray had tremendous numbers in Dallas in 2014, leading the league in rushing with 1,845 yards and 13 touchdowns, before signing with the Eagles on a five-year, $40 million contract almost a year ago on March 12, 2015.
The season that followed under Chip Kelly was tumultuous to say the least. On their way to a 7-9 record, Murray saw his playing time fluctuate due to nagging injuries and just lack of a fit in Kelly's system, which sparked rumors that the running back was unhappy.
Those rumors came to a head after Murray had just eight touches in the Eagles win over the New England Patriots on Dec. 6. Murray sat with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie on the flight back to Philadelphia and set off a whirlwind of rumors that the running back had gone to the owner about his playing time.
While that story has since been viewed as an overblown rumor by both Murray and Lurie, there is no mistaking the struggle Murray had in 2015. His 702 rushing yards were the second-lowest ever for his career since he had 663 yards in 10 games in 2012. Murray played in 15 games last season, but only started eight.
A reason Murray may be willing to stay may have nothing to do with football, but the struggle the Eagles would have in moving his contract. Murray is owed a guaranteed $7 million next season and his cap hit is $13 million, likely too high for any team to absorb.
So Murray stays an Eagle it seems and will try again, anew with recently-hired head coach Doug Pederson to try to make the vision the Eagles had last season a reality in 2016.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
